The interchange is welcome. Thank you for signing up and voting for confidence after you received this. If you read this as a post on our site, you should sign up here so you can receive it in the future. I take a look at the hottest news from the last week. This will include everything from funding rounds to trends to an analysis of a particular space. My job is to stay on top of the news and make sense of it so I can keep you up to date.
The State of Venture report from CB Insights was released last week. We couldn't wait to see the findings of both.
I pored through the numbers to give you all the details about Alex andNatasha, who are my partners in crime on the EquityPodcast.
In the second quarter of 2022, funding flowed into fintechs in the U.S. and globally, but at a lower rate. Funding wasn't the only thing that happened. Everything was not functioning. There are new M&As and IPOs.
The results are not as bad as you might think.
A significant share of global funding is still accounted for by fintech. More than 20% of all venture deals were in the field of technology. According to CB Insights, in the second quarter of 2022, investment was behind that of the first quarter. That is close to where it was last year and shows that despite the fact that fewer dollars are being invested, there is still serious investor interest.
Something else. It is clear that this year will be more subdued for fintech investment, but it is still on track to crush 2020's results. Alex wrote that things are still more active in capital terms in the fintech world than they were two years ago.
I wrote a few weeks ago that investors seem to be favoring later-stage deals. The results of the CB Insights report show that that was not the case.
From a reporter's point of view, we're scaling back considerably on covering one-off funding rounds. There are so many of them that we can't cover them all and do a good job. How much value is there in this practice? New raises and fund closes are still significant news events, but most of us are more cautious. To connect the dots for our readers is more important than agreeing to 10 embargoes a week. Point out what makes your company stand out when you pitch. It is unique. Our readers care about something. It is bucking a trend. I was able to go on and on.
While we are still getting pitched, we more than ever are looking at the bigger picture and hoping you will do the same when you are doing the throwing.
Corporate spend is evolving. I spoke with the founder and CEO of Airbase about the fact that the company just secured $150 million in debt financing. The reasons behind credit line closings are more interesting than the financings in and of themselves.
The company's priority continues to be generating revenue from software as a service. He said that the company has given pre-funded cards to midmarket and early enterprise companies as a way to make purchases. Many people could benefit from the ability to make purchases with 30 days of float, according to an executive at Airbase.
As we continue to grow and scale revenue and grow our customer base more aggressively, we found that there are definitely customers out there who can't afford to give up on the 30-day float that a card provides them.
Earlier this year, Brex announced a big push into software and enterprise. Airbase is trying to get into the corporate card space.
We now offer a card line, and we have the ability to write checks. Over the last six to eight months, we've taken it off our balance sheet. As that product of ours continues to grow, we don't want to use our equity dollars to subsidize our customers. Its recent debt financing is the reason.
The move doesn't put Airbase into the lending category, according to the man.
We are not in the business of lending money. He said that they wouldn't be a lender. We have a risk team that we continue to build out as we take on more risk.
We already knew that the company had raised more money at a lower valuation. Alex asked if the new valuation made Affirm cheaper. Sources told the Wall Street Journal that the internal value of the company's shares had been slashed. According to the Journal, the valuation cut comes from a 409A price change, and that it impacts the value of the common shares. The company declined to comment.
Mastercard announced an expansion of its partner network to include open banking in order to fast-track open banking adoption. It's goal is to give their customers easy access to qualified fintech partners that can fast track open banking solutions for payments and lending.
This week, there are other financial news.
It was seen on a website.
PayTalk has a long way to go in handling payments with voice.
In June, Wave reduced its staff by 15%.
There is read-only support for leading exchanges.
Elsewhere.
The new chief product officer is an ex-Twilio executive.
Goldman has a new applied innovation unit.
It was seen on a website.
GoHenry is a kids finance startup.
Workers in the U.K. will be able to manage their pension pots thanks to the support of a company.
Zazuu raised $2 million to scale its marketplace.
Kadmos makes it easier for migrant workers to be paid.
The Uprise bank is going to be a family office.
The Quiltt is a low-code infrastructure option for businesses.
Stori is a Mexican startup that has raised $50 million.
The insurtech downturn has led to a valuation of $4.5 billion by Wefox.
It was seen somewhere else.
Creditas raised $200 million and bought a bank.
The business acceleration program for black entrepreneurs has been expanded by the company.
After a $12 million Series A, a $52 million valuation emerges for Stake.
WorkStride is acquired by prepaid Technologies.
There is a great lineup of sessions for the #TechCrunchRobotics event. There is a bonus. Don't let your spot go to waste. I am so excited to meet my colleagues and many of our loyal readers at the event.
This Sunday is the last one. Wishing you all a great week. Mary Ann, I wish you good luck.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
