Fintech Highlights - 6/11/2024
Here's what we've been watching this week 👇
Pinned to the Top
AI mortgage startup LoanSnap is in trouble.
The company is facing at least seven lawsuits from creditors and has been evicted from its headquarters in Southern California, leaving employees worried about the company’s future.
LoanSnap has raised around $100 million in funding since its 2017 seed round, $90 million of which was raised between 2021 and 2023.
While LoanSnap has not yet shut down, according to two employees, the vibe inside the company is harrowing as workers wait for clarity on the company’s future.
The BFD
Neobanks are having a moment. Or at least some are.
U.K.-based neobank Monzo revealed its first full-year pre-tax profit. The company first hit profitability last March, a milestone driven by its lending product and the U.K.’s high interest rates.
Meanwhile, Brazilian digital bank Nubank became the most valuable financial institution in Latin America, surpassing Itaú, as reported by Bloomberg.
The NYSE-traded company also took its first tentative steps into the mobile network realm, rolling out an eSIM (embedded SIM) service for travelers.
M&A
Oaktree Capital Management agreed to buy the legacy financial guarantee businesses of Ambac Financial Group(NYSE: AMBC) for $420m. Meanwhile, Ambac will pay $282m in cash and stock to buy Beat Capital Partners, a London-based insurance MGA incubation platform. More here ->
Qatar Investment Authority agreed to but a 10% stake in mutual fund manager China Asset Management from Primavera Capital. More here ->
alos, a crypto trading software provider backed by Citi and a16z, acquired Skolem, a Canadian decentralized finance access platform that had raised over US$20m from firms like Galaxy Digital. More here ->
Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) acquired AdvisorTarget, a Coral Gables, Fla., provider of data to asset management and wealth management firms. More here ->
Stout, a Chicago midmarket investment bank, acquired health-care valuation and consulting company HealthCare Appraisers. More here ->
Piper Sandler (NYSE: PIPR) agreed to buy smaller investment bank Aviditi Advisors. More here ->
ACA Group, a portfolio company of Genstar Capital, acquired UMB Fund Services, a third-party funds distributor, from UMB Financial (Nasdaq: UMBF).More here ->
Core Scientific (Nasdaq: CORZ), an Austin, Texas-based bitcoin miner, rejected a $1b takeover offer from CoreWeave, a Roseland, N.J.-based cloud computing platform valued by VCs at $19b. More here ->
Fintech
Solutions by Text, a Dallas startup that helps users pay bills via text, raised $110m (including around $16.5m in venture debt) co-led by Edison Partners and StepStone Group. axios.link/3yGobO8 More here ->
Felix Pago, an SF-based money transfer startup focused on LatAm remittances, raised $15.5m in Series A funding led by Castle Island Ventures. axios.link/4bZydbz More here ->
Doconomy, a Swedish climate fintech startup, raised €34m in Series B funding. UBS Next and CommerzVentures co-led, and were joined by S&P Global, Motive Ventures, and PostFinance. axios.link/3wSHpj1 More here ->
Relay, a Canadian business banking platform that serves as a business banking and money management service for SMB's, raised US$32.2m in Series B funding led by Bain Capital Ventures. axios.link/3V0tS0N More here ->
Forward, an Austin, Texas-based integrated payments startup, raised $16m in seed funding to take on Stripe and lead the future of integrated payments. More here ->
Vegapay, an Indian digital lending and card management platform, raised $5.5m in seed funding. Elevation Capital led, and was joined by Eximius Ventures. axios.link/3KklEeW More here ->
Slingshot, a creator bookkeeping and payments startup, raised $2.2m in pre-seed funding from Dorm Room Fund, 1916 Enterprises, and Key Partners Group. axios.link/4e3mU3G More here ->
Romanian startup FintechOS has raised $60 million to help older banks and insurance companies fight back against neobanks. More here ->
Frich, a startup that aims to serve as a social financial community for the Gen Z population, raised $2.8 million in a seed funding round led by Restive Ventures. More here ->
Saudi Arabia-based Simplified Financial Solutions Company (SiFi), a spend management platform in the MENA region, has raised $10 million in a seed funding round. More here ->
Kudos has raised $10.2MM. Kudos offers an AI-powered smart wallet that acts as a comprehensive assistant for consumers, helping them maximize rewards and cashback on their credit card purchases. More here ->
Fibe, an Indian digital lending platform, raised $90m in Series E funding. Amara Partners, TR Capital and Trifecta Capital co-led, and were joined by Chiratae Ventures, TPG Rise Fund, Norwest Venture Partners, and Eight Roads Ventures. More here ->
Torpago, a commercial credit card and spend management provider, raised $10m in Series B funding at a $55m valuation. Priority Tech Ventures and EJF Ventures co-led, with participation from BankTech Ventures. More here ->
Slip, a British receipt insights company, raised £2.5m. Adjuvo led, and was joined by Haatch Ventures, Unbundled VC, and the Side by Side Partnership. More here ->
CBiGroup, a Puerto Rican provider of banking services for international trade businesses, raised $15m in Series A funding led by Alpol Capital Family Office. More here ->
Kintsugi AI, an SF-based tax assistance startup, raised $6m in Series A funding. Link Ventures led, and was joined by Venture Highway, KyberKnight, Plug and Play, and DeVC. More here ->
FintechOS, a Romanian low-code platform for banks and insurers, raised $60m in new Series B funding co-led by BlackRock, Cipio Partners and Molten Ventures. More here ->
Swiipr, a British travel payouts startup, raised £6m in Series A funding. Octopus Ventures led, and was joined by TX Ventures and Solano Partners. More here ->
Investtech
STON.fi, a decentralized automated market maker exchange, raised $3.6m. CoinFund led, and was joined by Delphi Ventures, Karatage, and TON Ventures. More here ->
Brightwave, an AI-powered research assistant for financial analysis, raised $6m in seed funding led by Decibel Partners, with Point72 Ventures, Moonfire Ventures and angels also participating. More here ->
Crypto
Scrypt, a Swiss provider of crypto asset financial services, raised $5m led by Brazil's Braza Bank. More here ->
Squads Labs, a crypto wallet startup, raised $10m in Series A funding led by Electric Capital, with RockawayX, Coinbase Ventures, L1 Digital, and Placeholder also participating. More here ->
Mountain Protocol, a yield-bearing stablecoin issuer, raised $8m in Series A funding. Multicoin Capital led, and was joined by Castle Island Ventures and Coinbase Ventures. More here ->
Insuretech
Canadian Insurtech APOLLO has raised US$13.4 million to establish its buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) subsidiary, Finshore. FinShore will provide a fully embedded monthly payment option to over 100,000 Canadians who are insured with Apollo. More here ->
Authentic, which helps SaaS platforms and franchisors provide insurance to SMB customers, raised $11m in Series A funding. FirstMark Capital led, and was joined by Slow Ventures, Altai Ventures, MGV, Upper90, and Commerce Ventures. More here ->
Continuity, a French startup assessing risk for insurers, raised €10m. 115K led, and were joined by Elaia and Bpifrance. More here ->
European mental health insurance platform ifeel raised a $20 million Series B investment co-led by FinTLV Ventures and Korelya Capital. More here ->
Coversure, an Indian insurtech, has announced it has raised $4 million in pre-Series A funding round, which was led by the seasoned regional investor Enam Holdings. More here ->
Bondaval, a British insurtech which provides protection against payment defaults has secured backing from a leading European Venture Capital. More here ->
Proptech
EverFence, a fencing marketplace for homeowners and contractors, raised $7m in Series A funding from HighPost Capital. More here ->
Stake, a Dubai-based real estate investment platform, raised $14m in Series A funding. Middle East Venture Partnersled, and was joined by Aramco's Wa'ed Ventures, Mubadala Investment Co., and Republic. More here ->
From the Stash
RBC to save $541M with HSBC integration - Royal Bank of Canada is on target to fully integrate HSBC Canada into its operations within the next two years. The $1.4 trillion bank expects to save CA$740 million ($541 million) once the merger is completed, according to the bank’s earnings report for its fiscal second quarter ending April 30. More here ->
Austin fintech company, Kasasa is hiring - and supposedly eyeing a potential exit. More here ->
Stripe, the world’s most valuable fintech startup, said on May 31 that it will temporarily move to an invite-only model for new account sign-ups in India - calling the move “a tough decision” as it navigates the country’s evolving regulatory landscape. The startup, which competes with Cashfree and YC-backed Razorpay in the country, will now focus on supporting a select number of businesses, particularly those focusing on international expansion. More here ->
Indian conglomerate Reliance Group is making its boldest consumer-facing move yet into financial services with the launch of JioFinance - an app that aims to be a one-stop shop for UPI digital payments, loans and insurance.
Ascend and Mylo Announce Strategic Partnership Driving Forward Insurance Industry - Ascend, a leading provider of financial operations automation software has announced it is partnering with insurtech leader Mylo connecting individuals and business owners with insurance products from over 100 carriers across multiple coverage lines. More here ->
More from the stash:
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