REPORT
The first quarter of 2022 brought a noticeably different tone to the market compared with 2021.
This caused markets to drop nearly 5% in Q1 2022 — falling -30% as much as 13% before recovering — a stark contrast from Q1 2021, which registered a 6% increase.
👉Download the full SVB “Global Fund Banking Outlook Q2 2022” report here.
👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Amid crypto market turmoil, Andreessen Horowitz announced a $4.5 billion web3 fund.
The new $4.5 billion fund doubles the size of its last crypto fund and showcases the widening interest among the firm’s limited partners in increasing their exposure to crypto startups. The firm specifies that one-third of the new mega-fund will be earmarked for seed deals exclusively.
👉Link to the full article here.
📊 INFOGRAPHIC
After venture capital investment reached a record $15.7 billion in 2021, more than what was raised by Latin American startups in the entire previous decade, and Latin America did not show signs of slowing down during the first quarter of 2022 compared to the first quarter of 2021.
👉Read the full article here.
📰 ARTICLE
Y Combinator, a Silicon Valley kingmaker, is advising its portfolio founders to “plan for the worst” as startups across the globe scramble to navigate a sharp reversal after a 13-year bull run.
TechCrunch obtained the letter YC sent to its portfolio founders this week.
👉You can read the email here.
💡INSIGHTS
Last week, €430m was raised across 9 FinTech deals.
Congratulations to the British unicorn Thought Machine that doubled its previous valuation to €2.5bn with a €152m series D round.
👉Read the full BlackFin Tech article by Romain Grimal here.
🦄 UNICORN CLUB
TransferMate Global Payments has agreed to a $70m fundraising round, pushing its valuation to $1bn and making it the latest Irish firm to attain ‘unicorn’ status. Link here.
💰 VC FUNDS
PayPal Venture and Experian Venture invest in home rental fintech Jetty. The new funding will enable Jetty to accelerate the growth of its existing suite of products and invest in product expansion. Link here.
Upfin, a new VC dedicated to supporting the Nordic fintech community, has raised €30 million to invest in early-stage startups across the region. Link here.
🤝 M&As
Paddle has acquired US subscription and retention automation software ProfitWell in a deal valued at over $200m in cash and equity. Link here.
ZoodPay acquires Pakistani consumer lending fintech Tez. The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed but the statement noted that it is the first M&A deal in Pakistan’s young fintech space. Link here.
Experian Plc has agreed to acquire MOVA Sociedade de Empréstimo entre Pessoas S.A. Link here.
Square has acquired GoParrot, an all-in-one digital ordering and marketing platform for restaurants. Link here.
🛳 PARTNERSHIPS
Mastercard leads a $40 million round in Saudi Arabia's HyperPay and has announced a strategic partnership. Link here.
Funding Circle has struck a new £1bn partnership with US-based Waterfall Asset Management. Link here.
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
🎉 NOTABLE FUNDING ROUNDS
⭐️ Marvin lands Series-A of $15 million led by American early venture capital fund Canaan. Link here.
⭐️ Babel Finance closes US$80 million Series B fundraising round at a US$2 billion valuation. Link here.
⭐️ Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges globally, has created a $100 million venture fund. Link here.
⭐️ Barclays and Goldman Sachs have joined in a $70 million funding round in Elwood Technologies, the institutional-grade digital asset platform founded by British hedge fund billionaire Alan Howard. Link here.
UK 🇬🇧
Bloom secures $377M Series A led by Credo and Fortress. Link here.
Kapaga scores £1.5 million from Target Global. With the new money Kapaga is looking to expand across Europe. Link here.
Tencent has led an $18 million funding round into Previse. The company has so far raised $25 million through nine rounds of financing. Link here.
Creditspring announces that it has raised £48 million to supercharge its mission of improving financial stability across the UK. Link here.
Freetrade has raised £30m through a loan agreement in its latest funding round. Link here.
Tranch has raised £3.5m ($4.25m) in pre-seed equity and debt funding to bring payment flexibility to a wider pool of B2B customers. Link here.
EUROPE 🇪🇺
uPledge announced its pre-seed capital raise of over US$300,000 to open new doors in sustainable and impact financing ecosystems. Link here.
USA 🇺🇸
equipifi raises $12 Million in series A funding. The company intends to use the funds to expand operations and its business reach. Link here.
PayEngine has raised $10 million in Series A funding led by Point72 Ventures. Link here.
ZenLedger closed a $15M Series B funding. The company intends to use the funds to expand services globally, innovate further on crypto finance products, and grow retail and government market share. Link here.
Caribou raises $115 million in Series C funding, valuing the company at $1.1 billion. Link here.
LATAM
Digitra.com raised USD5M in funding. The funds will be used to accelerate the operations of Digitra.com, and the expansion of other projects such as the development of the Real’s stable coin developed by company nTokens. Link here.
ASIA
Fintech startup SaveIn has raised $1.1 million in an extended seed round, led by Bayhouse Capital, taking its total investment so far to over $5 million. Link here.
AUSTRALIA
Openpay Group Ltd is pleased to announce the completion of an $18.25 million two-tranche Placement to accelerate its pathway to profitability in the ANZ business. Link here.
If you are a fintech startup and have over 100 questions send me an email, maybe I can answer a few.