THIS WEEK’S FUNDING NEWS OVERVIEW
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💡 Read all about it in my weekly overview article and get the latest funding news from the global FinTech space in your inbox every week.
👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Marqeta agreed to acquire two-year-old fintech infrastructure startup Power Finance for $223 million in cash, marking the first acquisition in the publicly-traded company’s 13-year history.
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📊 INFOGRAPHIC
What we can tell about Stripe’s valuation from its top customers and its publicly traded peers:
In this article from Jonathan Ching together with Argenys Morban they will unpack a few key topics to help provide some clarity into Stripe’s recent valuation news and announcements;
📰 ARTICLE
The drop in valuation that many fintechs are experiencing could make companies like Visa more likely to acquire them than compete against them.
"There's been a burst of the balloon in valuations in the fintech world," said Al Kelly, Visa's CEO.
For the quarter ending December 31, Visa reported revenue of $7.94 billion, up 12% from about $7 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share came in at $2.18; analysts estimated revenue of $7.68 billion and earnings of $2.01 per share, according to Zacks.
💬 INTERVIEW
Bermuda’s fintech plan could direct Canada in its approach to the industry, the country’s New York-based Acting Consul-General said.
André Frenette added that Bermuda was “leading the way” in the sector — a feat that was inspiring.
Mr Frenette said: “I grew up in a very small town in Southern Ontario that had a bigger population than Bermuda — 65,000 people.
💡INSIGHTS
Between the first quarter of 2021 and third quarter of 2022 (the most recent quarter for which data is available), the percentage of Americans that said that they used a mobile wallet at some point in the previous three months increased to 49% from 38%.
That increase reflects a significant erosion of some historical barriers to adoption.
🎤 PODCAST
In this week’s episode Darrell and Becca are joined by Sebastian Siemiatkowski, the co-founder and CEO of Klarna. Sebastian talks about what led him to found the startup and how it has navigated multiple market cycles since.
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
🇺🇸 NATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️ Thrive Capital reportedly committed $1 billion in fresh capital to payments giant Stripe as part of a new investment in the works that would value the FinTech company at between $55 billion and $60 billion.
⭐️Marqeta tapped technology executive, Simon Khalaf, as its new CEO.
⭐️Zurp raise of $5M with participation from New Form, MAGIC Fund, Launchpad VC, OVO Fund, Darling Ventures and Animal Capital.
⭐️ The University of Utah set to turbo-charge fintech programming with a new $65 million investment partnership.
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DIGITAL BANKING
Treasury Prime announced it raised $40 million in Series C funding. The round was led by BAM Elevate with investment from The Banc Funds Company.
VC FUNDS
Finley closes $17M to turn 100-page debt capital agreements into software-managed code.
PAYMENTS
Suppli announced that it closed a $3.1 million seed round that Equal Ventures led. Audacious Ventures, Dash Fund and several angel investors also participated in the round.
Method Financial closed a $16 million Series A funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Truist Ventures, Y Combinator (Method’s a Y Combinator graduate).
PayPal announced plans to lay off 2,000 employees, or around 7% of its workforce. President and CEO Dan Schulman wrote in a release that PayPal is working to address the “challenging macroeconomic environment.”
Stripe has set a 12-month deadline for itself to go public, either through a direct listing, or pursuing a transaction on the private market, such as a fundraising event and a tender offer, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Twitter has begun applying for regulatory licenses across the US and designing the software required to introduce payments across the social media platform, as Elon Musk searches for new revenues to turn round the business.
Moov Financial announces a $45 million Series B round of funding. The round was led by Commerce Ventures with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Bain Capital Ventures (BCV).
American Express announced the launch of American Express Business Blueprint™, the company’s new digital cash flow management hub designed exclusively for small businesses.
Checkout.com announced changes to its leadership team as it prepares its strategy to bolster US expansion and take on Stripe.
P97 Networks announced that it is teaming up with Visa to deploy its token technology.
Novo announced the launch of connected payments for Novo Invoices, the company’s free invoicing application.
OPEN BANKING
SoFi is reportedly laying off 65 members of staff from its mortgage division, around 5% of its 1,300-person workforce.
CRYPTO
Hatchfi launched out of beta on the heels of a $1.2M pre-seed raise with 30+ clients in the Fintech space including accounting & tax apps, investment platforms, and crypto lending apps.
BLOCKCHAIN / DEFI
Stellar announced that Félix and Bitso have partnered to create a stellar remittance solution for U.S.-based Latinos.
INVESTMENT
Foro raised $8M in Series A funding. The round was led by TTV Capital, with participation from Fin Capital, Correlation Ventures, and AME Cloud Ventures.
Upstart announced plans to cut its workforce by 20% citing difficult macroeconomic conditions.
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Marygold & Co, a fintech company developing a new mobile banking and financial services app, named Timothy Rooney as its new president.
Ripple promoted SVP and General Manager Monica Long to the role of President.