Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech (formerly The Interchange)! In this edition, I’m going to look at a fintech being sold at a fire sale, a startup raise group, and more!
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The big story
The saga continues. In mid-May, TC’s Manish Singh reported that ZestMoney’s founders had quit the startup. The Indian fintech, whose ability to make small-ticket loans to first-time customers on the Internet, once had the backing of several high-profile investors, including Goldman Sachs. By December, ZestMoney was shutting down after unsuccessful attempts to find a buyer. Then last week, the company, once valued at $450 million, was sold to DMI in a “fire sale.”
Analysis of the week
One of the most fun parts of being a reporter is watching companies grow over the years. In 2020, I wrote about Briq’s $10 million Series A and its mission to bring fintech to the construction industry. Last week, I covered its $8 million Series B expansion at a $150 million valuation, as well as its AI-related growth plans. In 2021, I mentioned the $9 million raise of the Argentine payment infrastructure Pomelo. Last week, I covered its $40 million Series B funding and the fact that it has grown revenue by 200% in 2023. I love watching companies I’ve covered in the early stages of the game grow! That’s how investors should feel.
Dollars and cents
Christine Hall has been busy this past week!
Digital Onboarding Earns $58M to Help Banks With Profitable Customer Engagement: Communications from financial institutions are often paper-based, which often leads to closing between 25% and 40% of new checking accounts within the first year. This SaaS startup wants to fix that.
Kashable $25.6M Banks to Offer Employment-Based Lending: More employers are adding financial products to their employee benefits and perks, and many startups have jumped into the field to help. Fintech company Kashable is the latest.
Tandem provides the app for “modern couples” to manage finances together and separately: Meet Tandem — a new fintech startup that tackles early financial milestones for couples and grows with the relationship — which just raised $3.7 million.
What else are we writing?
African neobank Kuda seeks to raise $20M in fixed valuation in 2023, misses 3M user milestone forecast: Earlier this month, Kuda co-founder and CEO Babs Ogundeyi told users that the Nigerian online bank challenged nearly the ₦56 trillion (~$60 billion) in transaction value since its launch in 2019. Ogundeyi also said that Kuda had achieved a remarkable milestone, with 7 million retail and enterprise customers as of today. However, the figure falls short of the fintech’s predictions when it sought new investment last year.
Other titles of high interest
Stripe, Flexport, TikTok and other startups were investing in startups. This has largely stopped: “Stripe’s investments through mid-2021 signaled its intention to expand internationally and grow beyond its core e-commerce business. Stripe acquired Nigeria-based Paystack in 2020 — expanding its reach into Africa — after participating in the payments startup’s Series A in 2018.” That level of investment has slowed dramatically, according to CB Insights data.
Cross-border payments fintech Neo hits profitability after year of rapid growth: “Barcelona-based fintech, which provides a single multi-currency account for corporate treasurers, recorded annual revenue of more than €5 million and annual profit of €1 million,” reports Fintech Finance News.
Podcast worth checking out
The flip side of the AI hype: Alex Wilhelm and I take quick dives into Pomelo, Briq and Tandem raises and more!
Back to the Unicorn Club with Aileen Lee of Cowboy Ventures: Alex Wilhelm and I invited Cowboy Ventures Eileen Lee to chat through her massive new article on the world of the unicorn.
ICYMI: I had a blast interviewing Jenny Fielding with the seed investor Everywhere Ventures. Click below to listen!
Follow me on X @bayareawriter for breaking fintech news, coffee related posts and more.
