Fintech startup Ramp jumps 32% in valuation, Mercury expands into consumer banking

Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech! This week, we look at Ramp’s big jump in growth and valuation, Mercury’s move into personal banking, Klarna’s new credit card, global funding rounds and more!

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The big story

Staircase, an expense management startup that competes with Brex, Navan and Airbase, told TechCrunch exclusively last week that it had raised $150 million at a post-money valuation of $7.65 billion. Khosla Ventures and Founders Fund co-led the round, which represented a 31.9% increase in valuation since its August 2023 raise. It’s an impressive feat in a challenging market full of bottom rounds. Also, notably, Ramp is one of the few major fintechs that hasn’t had to lay off staff. What’s driving all the investor interest in Ramp? CEO Eric Glyman believes it’s the company’s continued growth and emphasis on artificial intelligence.

Analysis of the week

Start business banking Hermes is expanding into consumer banking. The seven-year-old company today serves more than 100,000 businesses, many of which are startups, through its B2B practice. CEO and co-founder Immad Akhund tells TechCrunch that Mercury hopes to convert many of its business customers into customers, rather than going after the masses. Onyx Private, with a similar offering, recently made a reverse move, pivoting from B2C to B2B. Industry experts I spoke to emphasized that business and personal banking are “two different beasts,” but also, Mercury isn’t completely starting from scratch.

You can hear the Equity crew discuss this week’s fintech news here:

Dollars and cents

Embedded fintech startup based in Berlin meager has raised $24.7 million in a Series A round at a $107 million post-money valuation to further develop its product and enter new markets.

Since 2015, Sell, an insurtech based in Kenya, wants to increase access to agricultural insurance by smallholder farmers across emerging markets. So far, the insurtech has helped 15.4 million farmers across Africa, Asia and Latin America get insured, and is eyeing more after a $20 million Series B funding round.

Midasa fintech startup that allows people in Turkey to invest in US and Turkish stocks says it has raised $45 million in a funding round led by Portage of Canada.

Rumor has it that the HR/fintech startup Ripple is raising $200 million, with another $670 million worth of shares being sold by existing shareholders.

What else are we writing?

Klarna has launched its credit card in the United States, the Swedish fintech giant told TechCrunch in an exclusive interview. With the Klarna credit card, the company now competes with the likes of Apple and more recently Robinhood, as well as competitor BNPL Affirm in the credit card offering in the United States.

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