Author: Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz)

Revolut Debuts Payment Terminal Hardware

Revolut Debuts Payment Terminal Hardware
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Revolut
  • Revolut has announced the launch of Revolut Terminal, a wireless POS device aimed at larger businesses in the U.K. and Ireland.
  • Revolut Terminal offers advanced features like multi-location management, customer analytics, and integration with Revolut Pay.
  • Revolut Terminal is different from the Revolut Reader, which targets micro-businesses.

International challenger bank Revolut is pushing further into the business-to-business space this year. The company just announced the pending launch of Revolut Terminal, an advanced Point of Sale (POS) device designed for larger businesses across the U.K. and Ireland.

The new payment terminal, which is wireless and claims 99.9% uptime, is geared toward helping businesses manage transactions efficiently and securely across multiple physical locations. Revolut plans to launch the Revolut Terminal just ahead of Black Friday, which is timely for businesses that want to prepare for the increase in retail traffic before the holiday season.

Revolut’s new POS device integrates with Revolut Pay and will allow customers to make payments directly from their Revolut accounts without having to enter card or bank details. For merchants, Revolut Pay provides competitive transaction fees, which, at 0.5% + £0.02, are considerably less than traditional card processing fees.

“We’re excited to be offering Revolut Terminal as an all-in-one, powerful POS solution for our business customers,” said Revolut General Manager of Merchant Acquiring Alex Codina. “This launch comes as we continue to invest into our B2B offering and particularly double down on the hospitality and retail industries as an acquirer. A truly reliable payment solution is the difference between closing the sale and losing money, with Black Friday round the corner, Revolut Terminal is built to withstand high customer demand; and it could be yours in time for the busy season at an exclusive, reduced rate.”

In addition to the competitive pricing, the Revolut Terminal provides access to advanced POS features, including multi-location management, table mapping for restaurant businesses, analytics and insights into customer behavior, and integration with customer catalogues.

The Revolut Terminal builds on the success of the Revolut Reader, which the company launched in 2022. The Revolut Reader is a smaller, wireless dongle-type of payment acceptance tool aimed to help micro-businesses and entrepreneurs accept payments at 0.8% + £0.02 per transaction. The lightweight, portable card reader integrates with Revolut Business accounts and offers essential POS functionalities, including tipping and analytics.

Revolut offers an entire suite of tools for its business users. In addition to its flagship multi-currency accounts, the company also provides expense management tools, corporate payment cards, as well as a line of payment acceptance tools that includes hardware, APIs, analytics, and integrations.

“We’re continuing to see lots of momentum in Revolut Business, having this summer surpassed $500 million in annualized revenue and onboarding over 20,000 new customers per month,” said Revolut Business General Manager James Gibson. “Revolut Terminal marks the latest investment in our business customers, with merchants of all sizes now able to easily accept payments directly into their Revolut Business accounts, without juggling multiple providers.”

Last month, the company spun out its wealth management app into a standalone entity. And earlier this year, the company cemented its reputation as Europe’s most valuable fintech after receiving a $45 billion valuation.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Finovate Webinar: Innovations in AI-Powered Observability

Finovate Webinar: Innovations in AI-Powered Observability
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Finovate Webinar, Sponsored

The idea of a black box has always been unacceptable in financial services. Financial institutions must be able to explain to clients and regulators how decisions are made – are they fair, justified, and sensible?

This is where observability comes in and it can do much more than setting your moral compass right.

Join Dynatrace, Deloitte, and AWS on October 24 at 2 pm Eastern for a 45-minute live webinar tailored for executives in the financial services industry. This session will feature a panel of experts discussing the latest strategies for modernizing financial services infrastructure and applications through AI-powered observability.

In this in-depth discussion, the panel will explore the integration of AI-powered observability and financial services, focusing on how organizations can enhance their operations, ensure data protection, and comply with regulations. The experts will delve into the transformative potential of AI, including Generative AI, in boosting overall productivity and maintaining regulatory compliance.

Why should you attend?

  • Gain strategic insights: Learn from industry leaders about the latest trends and strategies in AI-powered observability tailored specifically for financial services.
  • Enhance operational efficiency: Discover how to leverage AI and automation to streamline operations, mitigate risks, and ensure compliance.
  • Real-world applications: See live demonstrations and hear real-life use cases from Dynatrace customers, showcasing practical implementations and outcomes.
  • Interactive learning: Participate in a live Q&A session with experts, allowing you to get personalized answers to your specific challenges and questions.

Among the panel of experts is Wayne Segar, Field CTO at Dynatrace; Paul Barnhill, Managing Director at Deloitte; and Eric Baran, Principal Segment Leader- DevOps – Global Financial Services at AWS.

Learn more or register today.

Photo by Ron Lach

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News

Fintech Rundown: A Rapid Review of Weekly News
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Fintech Rundown, Ripple, Token

With Halloween and the U.S. election on the horizon, things may be getting spookier, but that’s not the case in fintech! We’ve seen some potential good news in VC funding trends and expect that there is more to come. Stay tuned throughout the week to read the latest news this week as we post updates and evolutions.

Small business financial management tools

HubSpot to acquire B2B billing management and CPQ solution, Cacheflow.

Pivot Payables joins American Express Sync.

Lending & credit

Digital origination and decisioning technology company Amount launched its unified account opening and loan origination platform.

AperiData introduces credit score fully powered by open banking.

Investing & wealth management

Apex Fintech Solutions agrees to acquire fintech and design agency FinTron.

Facet raises $35 million to broaden access to financial advice.

DriveWealth integrates with multiple execution management system (EMS) platforms, including Bloomberg EMSX, LSEG Autex and TRAFiX. 

Regtech

Regulatory reporting software provider Regnology is acquiring CG3-1, a company that specializes in regulatory calculations for the U.S. broker-dealer industry.

Relyance raises $32 million to help companies comply with data regulations.

Open banking

Token.io and Santander team up to leverage open banking to enhance credit card repayments.

Crypto / Defi

Ripple announces readiness to launch its US dollar-denominated stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD).

Insurtech

Paymentus accelerates digital disbursements for insurance claims payouts.

One Inc and J.P. Morgan Payments collaborate to enhance unified payment platform for insurance.

Payments

Instant Financial expands pay options with the launch of Instant Direct to offer employees earned wage access.

Photo by Rizki Yulian on Unsplash

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

U.K. Digital Bank Pockit Acquires Monese

U.K. Digital Bank Pockit Acquires Monese
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Digital bank Pockit has acquired multi-currency account provider Monese.
  • Pockit plans to continue operating both brands separately while combining efforts to process $6.52 billion (£5 billion) in annual transactions.
  • Monese’s B2B arm, XYB, will be spun off as a standalone business, and Monese’s 100 employees will join Pockit.

U.K.-based digital bank Pockit announced that it has acquired multi-currency account provider Monese. While financial terms of the deal were undisclosed, Pockit is rumored to have paid a “modest sum” for Monese.

According to the Times, Pockit CEO and Co-founder Virraj Jatania said that the deal would be “transformational” for the company and “great news for millions of customers poorly served by traditional banks.”

Pockit was founded in 2012 and now offers a prepaid card for everyday use, as well as a travel-specific prepaid card that can be used in multiple currencies. The company also offers joint account cards, a credit building tool, a cash advance product, and more. Pockit has raised just shy of $50 million, with its most recent $10 million round led by Puma Private Equity in August of 2023.

Also founded in 2013, Monese offers both personal and business accounts that come with a multi-currency debit card suited for traveling. The company also offers international money transfers for both sending and receiving funds. The company is backed by $201 million in funding, having secured its most recent 2022 round from HSBC Ventures, which wrote off its investment earlier this year.

Monese also has a business-to-business arm called XYB. This core-less banking platform, which helps banks and other financial services companies create and launch new financial services solutions, was spun off as a standalone business earlier this year.

For now, it appears that Monese’s two million customers across 30+ countries will remain with Monese. Pockit has said that, while Monese’s 100 employees will join the Pockit team, they will continue to run both Monese and Pockit as two separate brands. Combined, Pockit and Monese will process around $6.52 billion (£5 billion) worth of transactions each year.

Photo by Engin Akyurt

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Streamly Snapshot: Micro Life Insurance

Streamly Snapshot: Micro Life Insurance
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: CEO Interview, Streamly

At FinovateFall last month, Finovate’s David Penn sat down with Wysh Founder and CEO Alex Matjanec to discuss the concept of micro life insurance.

We’ve highlighted pieces of the conversation below, and included the entire 10-minute video for you to check out the full story.

Tell us a little bit about Wysh and your approach to embedded life insurance.

Alex Matjanec: I think the first thing that surprises most people about Wysh is that we’re actually a life insurance company…. Our product is called Life Benefit, and Life Benefit is micro life insurance that sits on top of their deposit accounts…. We sell the policy to the institution, and they give it as a benefit to their customers or members as a way to differentiate their story beyond just credited interest rate, helping to bring a real protection to that story.

You spoke in the past about the context of the protection offering that Wysh provides. How does Life Benefit extend the capacity for protection.

Matjanec: Today, there is protection being offered… we have deposit insurance, FDIC insurance, overdraft protection, fraud protection. The issue with a lot of that protection is that it comes from a world of being in a negative place. What we want to do with Life Benefit is show how protection can help you from a positive direction. As you grow your deposits, you’re growing this policy and benefit along with it. That is how we’re following along with you in your journey. As you’re trying to become financially independent, we’re giving you a little bit of protection along the way.

How does an institution go about adopting Life Benefit?

Matjanec: One of the things we’re really proud about is that it takes less than 45 days to go from contract to launching Life Benefit…. We give you a one-page disclosure that you amend to your existing contract. That allows us to bring this benefit to market without requiring any sign-up, opt-in, or underwriting… That turns this into a 72-hour ability to turn on.

What makes Life Benefit really powerful is when you show the customer the benefit they’ve earned and it growing over time as you’re raising your deposits– much like showing people the value of interest rates or return on investments. That is a little bit of a larger lift, but we’ve made integrations with other cores and banking platforms, as well as built a low-code, no-code option that some of our partners have implemented, and that’s why we’re confident that… it takes less than 45 days to go live.

Catch all of this, and more, including Matjanec’s explanation of how Life Benefit can help firms avoid the “sea of sameness,” as well as a discussion on the tool’s affiliate offering, and the company’s future plans, in the full video below.

Enhancing financial inclusion with micro life insurance

Photo by Arafat Tarif

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Worldline Launches Embedded Payments Solution

Worldline Launches Embedded Payments Solution
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Worldline
  • Worldline and Online Payment Platform have partnered to launch an embedded payments solution in Europe.
  • The new tool will enable platforms and marketplaces to integrate features like split payments, escrow, and mediation handling.
  • The embedded payments solution is currently available in the E.U., and Worldline plans to expand it to Switzerland and the U.K., as well as add enhancements such as tap-on-mobile and POS integrations.

Payments services company Worldline and payment provider Online Payment Platform (OPP) have partnered this week to launch an embedded payments solution in Europe.

The new solution combines OPP’s payment technology with Worldline’s capabilities in acquiring, acceptance, and point of sale. Using the new embedded payments tool, platforms and marketplaces in Europe can add features such as split payments, advanced escrow, and unique mediation handling. Wordline anticipates that these new tools in an embedded experience will help businesses find new revenue opportunities and boost user engagement.

“Our partnership with OPP reflects our commitment to innovation in payments,” said Worldline CEO Marc-Henri Desportes. “By combining OPP’s robust platform capabilities with our extensive acquiring expertise, we are delivering an embedded payments solution that provides platforms and marketplaces a unique pathway to integrate and leverage new payment opportunities.”

Worldline designed its new embedded payments tool to offer a holistic, turnkey solution that works across multiple currencies and payment methods. The user-friendly interface allows for fast onboarding with a high level of security that can help reduce fraud and increase consumer trust. Additionally, the embedded payments tool is compliant with both E.U. and U.K. regulatory standards.

“With this joint offering, we are setting a new benchmark in the payments landscape,” said OPP Founder Richarad Straver. “Our approachability, combined with Worldline’s unrivalled footprint, allows us to provide a seamless and efficient experience for platforms and their sub-merchants. This solution not only facilitates transactions but also supports our clients with features like escrow and mediation, enhancing trust and security in every transaction.”

The new embedded payments tool is currently available in the EU. Worldline and OPP have plans to expand availability into Switzerland and into the U.K., having recently secured the EMI license for the latter region. The company also notes future plans for advancements such as tap-on-mobile and point of sale integrations, which it anticipates will further enhance the user experience.

Embedded payments in the U.K. are quickly growing and evolving as businesses across multiple sectors seek to enable companies to offer payment services within their existing interfaces rather than redirecting their customers to third-party payment processors. This is especially true in the E.U., where the growth of open banking and open APIs has accelerated the adoption of embedded payments as merchants seek to make transactions more seamless and ultimately enhance their customer experience.

France-based Worldline began facilitating card transactions in 1973 and currently has 18,000 employees in more than 50 countries and counts annual revenue of around $4.4 billion. Gilles Grapinet is CEO.

Photo by Anastasia Nelen on Unsplash

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Plaid Introduces Pay-by-Bank for Billpay

Plaid Introduces Pay-by-Bank for Billpay
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Plaid
  • Plaid has launched a pay-by-bank tool for bill payments in the U.S., allowing consumers to securely pay bills directly from their bank account without manually entering their account details.
  • The tool provides offers billers cost savings and lower risk with fewer returned payments through its risk engine, Signal.
  • Plaid’s pay-by-bank tool is already being used across industries like telecommunications and property management, integrating seamlessly with existing payment processors like Adyen, Nuvei, and Checkout.

Pay-by-bank is back in the news cycle today– this time in the United States. Fintech infrastructure player Plaid unveiled a pay-by-bank tool for billpay.

The new tool, which is powered by Plaid’s network, provides businesses with a lower cost, more secure option for consumers to pay bills directly from their bank account with less friction. Because it leverages Plaid’s bank network, the new pay-by-bank tool does not require consumers to find their checkbook, manually enter their account and routing numbers, and wait for verification. Instead, the solution, which is embedded into a biller’s existing payments flow, connects to consumers’ accounts by securely entering their bank login credentials.

“Plaid provides both market-leading authentication through online banking and traditional account and routing number validation in the background,” the company explained in a blog post. “There’s no need to stitch together multiple vendors, so no matter how the user prefers to pay with their bank account, Plaid’s end-to-end Pay by Bank solution can securely accept it. Plaid Pay by Bank is available across all channels: online, in-app, in-store, and hosted contact center solutions.”

Plaid’s pay-by-bank is available as an all-in-one solution that includes processing, or it can be integrated with a biller’s existing payment processor such as Adyen, Nuvei, Checkout, and others.

Pay-by-bank offers two major benefits to billers. The first is cost savings. Plaid estimates that payments made directly from the consumer’s bank account offer a 40% lower processing cost when compared to credit card payments. The second benefit is lower risk. Plaid’s risk assessment results in fewer returns for recurring payments.

To decrease the risk of returned payments, Plaid leverages Signal, its risk engine that uses machine-learning-driven network insights that mitigate failed payments, connecting to closed accounts, or accounts with insufficient funds. Signal offers a feature called Smart Retries that provides guidance on when to retry failed payments. Plaid reports that this decreases non sufficient funds (NSFs) on first payments by up to 80%.

Plaid’s pay-by-bank tool is already in use with a handful of customers across telecommunications, property management, insurance, automotive, and other industries. One such company, a digital rent payment business Domuso, has integrated Plaid’s new bill pay experience into its existing payments platform.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Which Aspect of VC Fintech Funding is Rising?

Which Aspect of VC Fintech Funding is Rising?
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Report series, Thought Leadership

We all know that the VC investment scene is nothing like it was in 2021 and early 2022. With Q3 of 2024 behind us, we now know that fintech is still experiencing a funding downturn. In fact, both deal numbers and funding totals are down from Q2 of this year, with 179 fewer deals and $2.4 billion less in funding volume.

While the drop is sobering, however, there are a few bright lights in recent funding data that may signal the potential start of a positive turnaround. I took a look at CB Insights’ recent State of Venture Q3 ’24 Report, and here are my major takeaways.

Areas of micro growth

As mentioned previously, there are a few aspects of CB Insights’ recent data that offer signs of potential recovery:

Deal size
The drop in the average size is leveling off. So far in 2024, the average deal size is currently $12.7 million, and compared the 2023 average size of $13.2 million, deal size falls around $500,000 short. This is much smaller than the $3.2 million drop that took place from 2022 to 2023, and looks quite favorable when compared to the $11.6 million drop from 2021 to 2022.

Even better news is that the median deal size has increased for the first time since 2020. Thus far in 2024, the median deal size has increased by $1 million. This comes after the median deal size dropped by $700,000 from 2022 to 2023 and decreased by the same amount from 2021 to 2022.

Resilience in early-stage investment
The data regarding deal stage distribution shows that 71% of deals are still going to early-stage companies. This suggests that investors remain optimistic about long-term innovation in fintech, even if they are currently more conservative with growth-stage investments. Investors’ focus on early-stage companies could signal that they are planting the seeds for future growth, and may be anticipating a recovery in the fintech sector.

Areas of concern

There are, of course, still some less positive aspects of the Q3 investment data, notably, M&A activity and unicorn valuations.

M&A environment

The data indicates that interest in acquisitions is dropping. In the third quarter of this year, we saw 146 exits made via M&A. While this is an increase of six acquisitions when compared to the same quarter last year, it is down from both the first and second quarters of 2024, which were 161 and 159, respectively.

Increased M&A activity often suggests that the market is stabilizing, so the decrease suggests that investors are either still concerned about market conditions or are holding out for lower interest rates.

New unicorns

The number of new unicorns has dropped. In the third quarter of 2024, there were just two newly minted unicorns. This level is equal to what we saw in the first quarter of last year. The number of new unicorns has dropped from three in the second quarter of last year and from seven in the first quarter of this year.

Is this the bottom?

Looking at the data, it would appear that we are pretty close to the bottom of the fintech funding slump. And while I said that last year at about this time, this year, we have small signals to back it up. Specifically, the first increase in the median deal size since 2020 is quite encouraging and may indicate the potential for increased investor appetites.

Photo by Mikhail Nilov

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

TrueLayer Lands $50 Million to Grow Pay-by-Bank

TrueLayer Lands $50 Million to Grow Pay-by-Bank
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Funding
  • TrueLayer secured an additional $50 million in funding, bringing its Series E round total to $180 million.
  • TrueLayer’s valuation has dropped to $700 million from its peak of $1 billion in 2021.
  • Despite the downround, TrueLayer remains optimistic about its future, stating its intentions to work toward profitability.

Open banking platform TrueLayer is proving that it is not just AI companies that are receiving VC investor attention. The London-based company recently received a $50 million extension of its $130 million Series E round.

Today’s follow-on round was led by existing investor Northzone with contributions from Tencent Holdings, Tiger Global, Temasek Holdings, and Stripe. According to Bloomberg, the recent round reportedly values TrueLayer at $700 million, which is notably lower than the $1 billion valuation the company received during its 2021 Series E round.

Despite TrueLayer’s recent raise being a downround—reflecting a valuation drop of $300 million—this trend has been common across the fintech sector in recent years. TrueLayer remains optimistic, viewing the new funding as a vote of confidence in its future growth and ability to achieve profitability. “Separately to this fundraise, we have taken important steps to chart our path toward profitability. This funding is yet another vote of confidence in our company, our technology,” said TrueLayer CEO Francesco Simoneschi.

Founded in 2016, TrueLayer offers an open banking payments network that processes $40 billion across 120 million transactions annually. The company has 10 million users located among 21 European countries. In addition to its payments and payouts products, TrueLayer also offers Signup+, a streamlined onboarding tool, and VRP, its variable recurring payments tool.

TrueLayer appointed its first Chief Strategy Officer, Lisa Scott, earlier this year. The company has raised a total of $321 million. Francesco Simoneschi is Co-founder and CEO.

TrueLayer, which counts Revolut, Coinbase, and Robinhood among its clients, is well-known for facilitating pay-by-bank transactions. Pay-by-bank has seen increased interest among merchants, as they have multiple benefits in comparison to credit card payments. The benefits include fewer fees, faster settlement, and reduced chargebacks. While there has been some movement in pay-by-bank usage in the U.S., pay-by-bank has seen more growth in Europe where open banking is regulated and consumers don’t rely on credit cards as much.

Photo by Michael Kessel

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Tyfone Teams Up with FinGoal to Help Banks Personalize their Products

Tyfone Teams Up with FinGoal to Help Banks Personalize their Products
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, FinGoal, Tyfone
  • Tyfone has partnered with FinGoal to deliver personalized banking solutions.
  • Tyfone will leverage FinGoal’s Insight Platform to help its clients transform transaction data into detailed personas and next-best actions for users.
  • FinGoal’s Next Best Actions has already been adopted by a portion of Tyfone’s clients, and more plan to join soon.

Digital banking solutions provider Tyfone has teamed up with FinGoal this week to help banks deliver personalized products and tools to account holders.

Tyfone will leverage FinGoal’s Insight Platform that turns transaction data into detailed personas and offers next-best actions for each account holder. Specifically, Tyfone clients will have greater access to FinGoal’s Next Best Actions, a tool that increases conversion rates, lifetime value, and engagement. Currently, a portion of Tyfone’s client base is already using Next Best Actions, and more plan to join soon.

Showcased at FinovateSpring 2023, FinGoal’s Next Best Actions can help increase conversion rates, lifetime value, and engagement across digital banking solutions by leveraging digital banking and personal financial data. With that data, FinGoal’s clients can better understand users and provide actionable insights.

“Today’s account holders want more than just banking—they’re looking for personalized insights and a seamless experience that helps them make better financial decisions,” said Tyfone Director of Strategic Partnerships Jared Kopelman. “By integrating FinGoal into our platform, we’re equipping our clients with powerful tools like transaction cleansing and categorization and clear merchant logos. This partnership empowers financial institutions to deliver a more intuitive and tailored experience that helps institutions better understand its customers and deepen relationships.”

Tyfone was founded in 2004 and provides digital banking and payment solutions. The Oregon-based company’s digital banking solution, nFinia, is an enterprise solution that allows CFIs to deliver a hyper-personalized digital banking experience to both retail and commercial customers. The configurable solution offers more than 300 financial functions and provides an open ecosystem with direct integrations with more than 160 players.

Headquartered in Colorado, FinGoal was founded in 2018. In addition to its personalized offers technology, the company offers transaction enrichment and account aggregation and verification tools.

“The better an institution knows its users, the better it can serve those users,” said FinGoal CEO David Nohe. “Tyfone is known for its modern and sophisticated banking solution, and this partnership gives banks and credit unions a modern platform with actionable insights to power better engagement. FinGoal will arm our joint clients with data analytics and enhanced user experience.”

Photo by Jopwell

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Fidelity Investments Closes $250 Million Venture Capital Fund 

Fidelity Investments Closes $250 Million Venture Capital Fund 
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Fidelity, Funding
  • Fidelity Investments has launched its first dedicated venture capital fund, Venture Capital Fund I.
  • The $250 million Fund I targets mid-to-late stage companies in technology, media, and telecommunications sectors.
  • The new fund marks a shift from Fidelity’s traditional private market investing, allowing the firm to make direct minority investments and cater to high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and registered investment advisers.

Fidelity Investments recently closed its Venture Capital Fund I LP, or what it is calling Fund I. The $250 million fund– which received support from investors including high net-worth individuals, family offices, and registered investment advisers– held its final closing on September 30.

Fidelity has been investing in private companies for over 15 years, having backed Twilio, Stripe, and even SpaceX. During its decade-and-a-half of investing, Fidelity has deployed over $28 billion across 600 investments in 350 private companies. Historically, the firm has focused on high-growth category disruptors, leveraging its mutual funds to back private companies with notable competitive advantages.

Fidelity Investments Portfolio Manager and Global Head of Private Equity Karin Fronczke emphasized how the launch of the new fund strengthens Fidelity’s already robust track record of investing in private companies. “The success of this fundraise speaks to Fidelity’s legacy investing in private companies. We are grateful for the support from the fund’s limited partners,” she said.

The firm’s introduction of Fund I, however, marks a significant departure from its traditional approach, carving out a more defined venture capital strategy. With Fund I, Fidelity has a dedicated vehicle for direct minority investments and will target mid-to-late stage companies in the technology, media, and telecommunications sectors.

Additionally, the new fund will help Fidelity meet the growing demand from high net-worth individuals, family offices, and registered investment advisers who want more diversification in private market investments. Fidelity’s Fund I is a notable shift towards a specialized venture capital structure that can cater to investors seeking access to high-growth private companies and diversification beyond traditional public markets.

Fund I is already in motion, having invested $31 million in 10 companies spanning industries including aerospace, defense, artificial intelligence, and e-commerce.

Fidelity, which already manages 50 alternative funds, recently launched liquid alternatives ETFs and mutual funds. The firm currently counts $27.8 billion in assets under management in alternatives and $80 billion in alternative investment assets under administration.

This announcement comes at an interesting time for the fintech venture capital funding environment, which is experiencing a notable drought. As Finovate Research Analyst David Penn noted on the blog earlier this week, “According to market intelligence platform Tracxn, funding for U.S.-based tech companies in Q3 of this year fell, both in comparison to the previous quarter as well as when compared to Q3 2023. Tracxn also reported that the number of tech unicorns actually increased this year compared to last year, with 13 new unicorns acknowledged in Q3 2024 compared to just five in Q3 2023.”

However, Fidelity’s optimism in launching a new fund may signal a turning point in the fintech funding landscape. This shift could push more traditional asset managers to create similar venture capital funds, pushing more capital into later-stage fintech firms, a group which has been ignored by investors over the past few years.

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Check Out 66 New FinovateFall Demo Videos

Check Out 66 New FinovateFall Demo Videos
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Finovate Marketing, FinovateFall 2024, List series

Whether you attended FinovateFall last month and missed a few demos, watched all of the demos but want to watch them again, or missed out on FinovateFall entirely, we have great news for you. The videos from the 66 FinovateFall demos are now live (and free to watch!) on Finovate’s website.

To get you started on watching over seven and a half hours of pure fintech demos, we’ve highlighted the eight Best of Show winning demos below to get you started.

Bancography 

CardLift 

Credit Mountain 

Delfi Labs

Eko Investments

Illuma

Nest Bank & Efigence 

Themis

FinovateFall highlights reel

Want to re-live the entire show? Check out the highlights reel below.

If you don’t want to miss out on the live action next time around, be sure to register for FinovateEurope, taking place February 25 and 26 in London. We’ll see you there!

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook