Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech (formerly The Interchange)! We’re back after a short break and I can tell you that judging by the volume of pitches I’ve received this past week, venture investment in the fintech space is definitely on the rise. This week, we look at Plaid’s latest step towards an IPO, the financial results of a BNPL company and more. Let’s dive in!
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The big story
Last week, Plaid announced it had hired its first president. It’s worth noting that Cloudflare’s former chief product officer, Jen Taylor, has plenty of experience helping a private company go public — something we expect Plaid to do in the relatively near future. Coincidentally, I was already working on a “Here are the fintech startups that could go public in 2024” piece. With the help of F-Prime Capital, I’ve put together a list of fintechs that have the potential to go public sooner rather than later. Klarna, Chime, Stripe are just some of those mentioned.
Analysis of the week
Speaking of public buy-now-pay-later companies, Affirm released its earnings last week. Despite posting 48% higher revenue of $591 million compared to estimates of $521 million, investors remained cautious. After rising 7% on Thursday, shares fell nearly 11% on Friday to close at $43.86. It is important to note, however, that this is not the case that off Affirm’s 52-week high and nearly double where it was trading in November. In general, public fintechs had a better year last year. “The total market cap reached $573 billion by the end of 2023, up from a low of $389 billion in December 2022 — but down from a high of $1.3 billion in September 2021,” according to an email from F-Prime Capital.
Dollars and cents
Ingrid had a big scoop on the news that Entrust is buying AI-based identity verification startup Onfido for more than $400 million.
New Unicorn Alert! Romain reported that accounting software startup Pennylane became France’s latest unicorn with a €40m fundraise.
Meanwhile, Christine reported that another accounting startup — Finally — raised $10 million in equity funding. Miami-based Finally aims to help businesses automate accounting and financial functions.
ICYMI: Expense management startup Ramp acquires AI startup Venue as it expands its commission offering, and Metronome’s usage billing software finds success in AI as startup raises $43 million in new capital.
What else are we writing?
Reliance Industries spinoff Jio Financial Services said it is not in talks with Paytm to buy its wallet business, denying “speculative” media reports as the company sought to put out the fire from the central bank’s crackdown last week .
An Indian parliamentary committee has urged the government to support the development of domestic fintech players that can offer alternatives to Walmart-backed apps PhonePe and Google Pay, which currently hold more than 83% of the country’s digital payments market.
PayPal is working on a new consumer app for mobile customers and has suggested it will be “ready” to take advantage of the new EU regulation, the Digital Marketing Act (DMA), when it comes into effect next month for the “gatekeepers” of technology. like Apple.
Don’t miss Tage’s deep dive into how African startups face many of the same problems plaguing fintechs in more mature markets like the UK and US
High interest titles
Kin Insurance is fueling growth with $15 million in funding
Construction insurance tech startup Shepherd raises $13.5 million in Series A funding
RealReports raises $2 million in seed funding
Pagaya Secures $280M Credit Facility for AI-Based Consumer Financial Products
Navro secures EMI license and raises $14 million to revolutionize global payments
