Payments infrastructure start-up Kevin reportedly declared insolvent by court in Lithuania

Lithuanian payments infrastructure start-up Kevin has reportedly been declared insolvent by the Vilnius District Court, according to regional news outlet 15min. The court has initiated a bankruptcy case, appointing IS Group as the insolvency administrator. Lina Nemeikaitė, assistant to the chairman of the Vilnius District Court, confirmed that Kevin is unable to meet its financial obligations on time, leading to the insolvency declaration.

The Bank of Lithuania had already intervened in July, appointing a temporary representative to oversee Kevin’s activities due to delays in submitting audited annual reports. At that time, the central bank also instructed the start-up to cease providing payment services to new customers. Kevin, co-founded in 2018 by CEO Tadas Tamošiūnas and Pavel Sokolovas, aimed to replace traditional card transactions with account-to-account (A2A) payments and had raised $65 million in a Series A funding round led by Accel in 2022.

Despite its promising start and expansion efforts, including opening an office in Dubai in late 2023 to capture market share in the Middle East, Kevin’s financial struggles led to its downfall. Lukas Jakubonis of the Bank of Lithuania expressed disappointment, noting that the company was once considered a potential Lithuanian unicorn. Both Kevin and the Vilnius District Court have been contacted for further comment.