Starling's SaaS platform Engine could generate hundreds of millions of pounds a year for the UK digital bank, propelling it towards a £10 billion valuation, predicts investor Chrysalis.
Engine is an API-based, cloud native platform initially built by Starling’s own in-house tech team to run the UK bank. In 2022, Starling began offering Engine to other lenders, promising to help them quickly launch new digital services or to replace legacy systems.
The platform has so far only secured two clients, Salt Bank in Romania and AMP Bank in Australia. However, Starling's second largest shareholder, investment trust Chrysalis, is expecting Engine to become a significant source of revenue.
Chrysalis co-manager Richard Watts tells the Financial Times that Engine has "a strong pipeline" and could have between 40 and 50 clients in a few years, "which would equate to a revenue opportunity of many hundreds of millions of pounds per annum".
This could help the challenger bank "see a valuation approaching £10 billion".
Last year, Jupiter Asset Management offloaded a six per cent stake in Starling at a valuation of £1.5 billion, a billion pound discount to the bank's valuation at an internal fundraise in 2022.
Starling has been betting on Engine to drive its international expansion since deciding to pull the plug on moving into Europe through an Irish banking licence. In December it signed a deal with professional services giant PwC, which will offer Engine to its clients around the world.
Watts tells the FT: "We’ve been pushing for Engine to be developed to drive Starling’s growth, as this proposition opens up a global market for bank infrastructure."