Fintech Highlights -10/11/2022

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Airwallex, a cross-border payment startup based in Hong Kong and Australia, said it has raised $100 million at a valuation of $5.5 billion, the same as its previous valuation last year.

The latest funding came from both existing and new investors. The company’s flat valuation, which comes after the stock market’s turmoil and a global economic slowdown that have caused many tech unicorns’ valuations to drop, “underscores investors’ confidence,” said Airwallex co-founder and CEO Jack Zhang in a statement.

New investors in the latest round included HostPlus, an Australian industry superannuation fund, and a North American pension fund whose name Airwallex didn’t disclose. The startup’s existing investors Sequoia Capital China, Tencent, Salesforce Ventures, Square Peg, Lone Pine Capital, Hermitage Capital and 1835i Ventures also took part in the round.

The BFD

Investing app Stash, which last raised $125 million from investors in a Series G round last year, is adding crypto to the set of products it offers its 2 million users.

Co-founder and president Ed Robinson also shared in an exclusive interview with TechCrunch that Stash’s latest annual revenue figure is $125 million.

Why crypto? Why Stash?: The startup sees itself as different from competitors because of its focus on cultivating customers who are long-term investors rather than encouraging more frequent, riskier trading for short-term profits.

What will it offer? Tthe company is sticking with what it calls a “curated” approach, allowing customers to buy and sell eight different cryptocurrencies on the platform — Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Chainlink, Ethereum, Avalanche, Ethereum Classic, Solana and Uniswap.

M&A

Q2 (NYSE: QTWO) acquired Sensibill, a Toronto-based expense management startup that had raised over $50m from firms like Radical Ventures, NAVentures, Information Venture Partners, Fastbreak Ventures and First Ascent Ventures. More here ->

StoneRidge Insurance Brokers, a Canadian portfolio company of CIVC Partners, acquired Deerborne Insurance, a Toronto-based full-service insurance brokerage. More here ->

Fintechs

As embedded finance trends, UK-based Railsr bags $46M funding — techfundingnews.com

Railsr (formerly Railsbank) a London-based embedded finance startup, raised $26m in equity funding (plus $20m in debt). The Railsr platform provides financial products and solutions, including banking and wallets, cards, credit and rewards.

B2B lender Founderpath raises $145m to help businesses get access to short-term cash — member.fintech.global

B2B lender Founderpath, a financing platform enabling SaaS companies to receive upfront funding based on subscription customers, has reportedly raised $145m in a mix of debt and equity.

Bessemer backs SaaS platform that automates billing workflows — techcrunch.com Zenskar's seed funding was led by Bessemer Ventures Partners and saw participation from Shine Capital, Basecamp Fund and Converge.

Majority, a Houston-based startup providing mobile banking for migrants in the US, raises $30 million — coverager.com

Founded in 2019, Majority’s membership offering goes for $5.99/mo and includes a bank account, debit card, community discounts, free international money transfer and discounted international calling. Banking services are provided by Sutton Bank.

Levelfield, a Houston-based financial trading platform, raised $9 million of venture funding.

LevelField, the premier U.S. financial services firm uniting digital assets and traditional banking services in one trusted platform, announced today that it has launched its turnkey digital asset solution for banks, which will enable bank customers to buy, sell, hold and transfer digital assets with the safety and security of a platform built on LevelField's compliance-focused technology. Bitcoin will be the first digital currency LevelField will administer.

Doxo, a Seattle-based bill payment platform, raised $18.5m in Series C funding. The company provides real-time payment tracking so customers can rest assured that their payments are delivered on time. More here ->

Jiko banks $40M in Series B funding to offer companies a way to park their cash in T-bills — techcrunch.com

The Oakland, CA based fintech automates T-bill investments and storage

Fiserv, LG back Korea Credit Data as the SME-focused fintech startup raises another $24.7M — techcrunch.com Korea Credit Data, a fintech for MSMEs, raises $24.7 million in Series D extension from strategic investors Fiserv and LG Uplus.

Solvento, a Fintech for Carriers in Mexico, Announced A US$5 Million Seed Round — contxto.com

Solvento, a Mexico City-based payments and credit startup for truckers, raised $5m in seed funding. The round was led by Texas-based fund Ironspring Ventures, which focuses on the construction, transportation, and logistics sectors.

Investtech

Real estate investing app Fintor raises $6.2M at $80M valuation — techcrunch.com Real estate investing startup Fintor launched its mobile app and raised $6.2 million in fresh funding at an $80 million valuation

Raise Green, a retail investing platform for renewable energy projects and companies, raised $1.2m in seed funding from such backers as TechStars, per Axios Pro. More here ->

Insuretechs

Amplify, an SF-based digital life insurance platform, raised $10m. Munich Re Ventures led and was joined by Crosslink Capital, Greycroft and Conversion Capital. More here ->

How hybrid cyber insurance can help mitigate the financial risk of cybercrime  — venturebeat.com Elpha Secure Technology announces it has raised $20 million in funding for its hybrid cyber insurance solution.

More deals...

Modern Life ($15M, Thrive Capital): Life: Only brokerage supporting life agents with end-to-end capabilities for the sales and support process.

Ledgebrook ($4.2M, Brand Foundry Ventures): Reinsurance: Excess and Surplus MGA using data-driven tech stack to serve the wholesale brokerage market.

Fairmatic ($42M, Foundation Capital): P&C: Fleet insurance using predictive risk model based on mobile phone data and AI gathered in stealth.

Planck ($23M, Vintage Investment Partners): Commercial: Automated underwriting platform designed to provide instant risk insights for commercial insurers.

ProNavigator ($10M, Graphite Ventures): SaaS: Knowledge-sharing platform driven by AI to allow frontline insurance professionals to access detailed data in a simplified format.

Pie Insurance ($315M, Centerbridge Partners): Workers Comp: Carrier for small business coverage using online platform combined with diverse data sets to more accurately assess risk.

Proptech

Nigerian proptech Spleet gets $2.6M led by MaC VC to scale its property management products — techcrunch.com Spleet is a platform that partners with apartment owners to list their properties and offers renters options to pay rent monthly, quarterly and biannually.

From the Stash

Investors Wary of Board Seats at Crypto Startups Due to Legal Risks — The Information — www.theinformation.com As regulators take aim at cryptocurrency tokens, prominent crypto investors have taken unusual steps to insulate themselves: not seeking board seats at startups in hopes of avoiding liability. Investors’ lawyers are warning that members of token-issuing startup boards could potentially face big ...

TD Bank seeks client feedback for innovation direction — bankautomationnews.com TD Bank’s approach to embedded banking starts at the core before seeking client feedback to determine which capabilities to add next. The $1.4 trillion bank understands that commercial customers report financials and reconcile their records — so that’s where integration begins, Paul Margarites, head of commercial digital platforms at Cherry Hill, N.J.-based TD, told Bank

Pinwheel launches earned wage access product — bankautomationnews.com Payment routing platform Pinwheel has released a new immediate earned wage access (EWA) product that allows customers to pull funds outside of a typical paycheck cycle by scanning and analyzing their payment history. Earnings Stream, which runs on APIs and connects to more than 1,600 payroll platforms, gathers large amounts of earnings and payment data

We Need an Individual Contributor Track for Founders — www.theinformation.com Three and a half years ago, my startup was going downhill, and so was I. We were bleeding cash, struggling to break into new markets, and my habit of anxious fasting had shed 20 pounds from my already slender frame. After putting my daughter to bed, I would spend my weekday evenings in the ...

Venmo rolls out 'Charity Profiles' to allow charities to raise funds directly within its app — techcrunch.com Venmo is launching a new feature called Charity Profiles that will allow charities to raise funds and receive donations.

Reports / Webinars

Inclusive design - building financial services for everyone |… • 11:FS — content.11fs.com Our latest report looks at how brands can better serve customers who are often excluded from financial services and how to implement change in your…

CX Circle: Humanize the Digital Experience — go.contentsquare.com Join Contentsquare alongside top brands leading the charge in digital innovation. We’ll cover a variety of topics supporting the three main pillars to humanizing DX:

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