Fintech Highlights - 8/17/2021

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Pinned to the Top

Jerry, the auto startup that aims to save its customers time and money on car expenses, has raised more investment.

Just months after raising $28 million, they've announced that they have raised an additional $75 million to build a car ownership ‘super app.'

The Palo Alto-based startup launched its car insurance comparison service using artificial intelligence and machine learning in January 2019 and has It has quietly since amassed nearly 1 million customers across the United States as a licensed insurance broker. More here ->

The BFD

Gusto, a San Francisco-based payroll and HR software company, raised $175 million at a $9.5 billion valuation led by T. Rowe Price.

Why it's the BFD: There is no better sign of a labor market roaring back than demand for payroll software.

The bottom line: "Part of Gusto's success will rely on its ability to maintain its swim lane of catering to small and medium businesses, says Scott Berg, an analyst at Needham & Co. The market for small and medium businesses is enormous, with more than 30 million in the U.S. Shopify built an almost $200 billion company providing these businesses with the tools to launch online businesses. Still, the HR and payroll software space is saturated with other public companies like Paychex and ADP, and Gusto's growth will require a gradual climb, Berg adds." — David Jeans, Forbes.

Fintechs

Kroo, the London-based consumer-facing fintech that claims to offer more “social features” in its drive toward offering full-blown banking services, has raised $24.5 million. Launched in February 2019, Kroo, Kroo’s pitch is that it removes friction from financial interactions with friends and family, and throws in some environmental initiatives as well, such as tree planting. More here ->

Upgrade, a San Francisco-based consumer credit startup, raised $105 million. Upgrade offers products that are “designed to give consumers more value and a better experience than those offered by traditional banks,”. Upgrade Card, the company’s flagship product, “promotes responsible credit by turning every balance into a fixed-rate installment plan, and by paying rewards to cardholders as they pay down their balance.” More here ->

Pave, a San Francisco-based startup that helps companies benchmark, plan and communicate compensation to their employees, has raised $46 million. Pave uses market and partner data to help companies benchmark salaries for their employees. Second, the startup integrates with HR tools such as Workday, Carta and Greenhouse to give its customers a holistic picture on how employees are currently being compensated, and what makes sense for promotion cycles and salary bumps. And third, the data work culminates into formal offers and compensation packages that employers can then offer to new and old employees. More here ->

Human Interest, a San Francisco-based provider of SMB 401(k)s, has raised $200 million. Less than six months after raising $55 million in a Series C round of funding. Human Interest’s digital retirement benefits platform allows users “to launch a retirement plan in minutes and put it on autopilot,” according to the company. It also touts that it has eliminated all 401(k) transaction fees. More here ->

Octane Lending, a New York-based lending startup for recreational purchases, raised $52 million. “We quickly learned that the buying journey in powersports markets was broken beyond just financing,” Guss told TechCrunch. “We elevated our goal to build an end-to-end buying solution including editorial content, consumer pre-qualification tools, instant full-spectrum financing and digital deal closing.” More here ->

Zeni, a Palo Alto-based financial services data provider for venture-backed startups, raised $34 million.  Zeni’s AI-powered finance concierge platform offers bookkeeping, accounting, tax and CFO services, managing these for a flat monthly fee starting at $299 per month. Founders have real-time access to financial insights via the Zeni Dashboard, including cash in and out, operating expenses, yearly taxes and financial projections. They can also download the financial data in the “slice” that they want. More here ->

Reserve Trust, a Denver-based business payments company, raised $30.5 million in an effort to become the ‘Stripe for B2B payments.' Reserve Trust describes itself as “the first fintech trust company with a Federal Reserve master account.” What does that mean exactly? Basically, a federal reserve master account allows Reserve Trust to move dollars on behalf of its customers directly, via wire and ACH payment rails, without an intermediate or partner bank. More here ->

SentiLink, an identity verification technology startup, has raised $70 million. SentiLink aims to help banks, lenders and financial institutions detect fraud at the point of application through a real-time API. Specifically, those APIs detect fake and stolen identities for new account applications. More here ->

U.S. Bank has acquired Bento for Business, a San Francisco-based employee spending management company. The 8-year-old Chicago- and San Francisco-based company provides small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with debit card-based payment and expense management tools. Bento customers transfer funds from their bank account into a Bento account, with money being accessible via a Visa debit card, according to the company’s website. More here ->

Aalto, a San Francisco-based online marketplace for private home sales, raised $13 million. Aalto has built out a new kind of homeowner marketplace. It’s a private one that doesn’t rely on the MLS, and gives sellers more control of how and when their homes are listed, shown and sold. More here ->

Insuretechs

Root is announcing a groundbreaking partnership with Carvana—where, for the first time, a consumer will be able to buy a car and the insurance for it through the same, simple, digital experience. More here ->

Naked, a South African insurance technology provider, raised $11 million. Founded in 2018 by Alex Thomson, Sumarie Greybe and Ernest North, Naked is a digital insurance platform covering cars, content, homes and standalone items. The company says it employs artificial intelligence to create new processes and experiences for its customers. More here ->

At-Bay Inc., an insurance startup focused on cyber coverage, raised $185 million. The demand for coverage has been increasing, and At-Bay, which started the year with 60 employees, has doubled its headcount and is looking to increase the workforce to close to 200 by the end of the year. It recently surpassed $160 million in annual recurring revenue. More here ->

From the Stash

Utah-based digital bank FinWise Bancorp postpones $58 million IPO — axios.link

FinWise Bancorp, a Utah-based digital bank that offers loan and deposit services across the US, postponed its IPO on Thursday.

Report: Young Consumers Want BNPL, 95 Pct of SMBs Don’t Offer It — www.pymnts.com There’s a huge disconnect between what consumers want and what merchants offer when it comes to Buy Now, Pay Later.

JPMorgan Piloting Real-Time Payment Service | PYMNTS.com — www.pymnts.com J.P. Morgan Chase is piloting a real-time payments service with an undisclosed FinTech company, which the company hopes will give it an edge in digital payments.

Podcasts

The Leadership in Insurance Podcast with James Poole — preview.mailerlite.com In this episode, we speak James Poole, founder and managing director of Agile Risk, a venture-backed risk intermediation team based in London whose aim is to drive down the cost for clients by securitising risk.

The Evolution of Banking-as-a-Platform — thatdigitalshow.withgoogle.com

Faced with changing customer behaviors and demands, tightening margins, and increasing threat from digital competitors, financial services institutions will need to meet customers where they are, open up their services, and establish new ways to monetize their products.

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