Daily news

Clearwater Analytics to Buy Investment Management SaaS Platform Enfusion for $1.5 Billion

Clearwater Analytics to Buy Investment Management SaaS Platform Enfusion for $1.5 Billion
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Clearwater Analytics is acquiring portfolio management and risk systems provider Enfusion for $1.5 billion.
  • The acquisition expands Clearwater’s market reach, leveraging Enfusion’s expertise in hedge funds, its strong international presence, and a $1.9 billion increase in its total addressable market, while also aiming to save $20 million through operational efficiencies.
  • Enfusion will benefit from Clearwater’s infrastructure and AI expertise.

Investment management solutions company Clearwater Analytics is acquiring Enfusion, a portfolio management and risk systems provider. The deal, advised by J.P. Morgan Securities, is expected to close for $1.5 billion.

“Today’s announcement is about creating a future where our clients benefit from the synergy of two highly complementary, innovative software leaders, paving the way for a unified, cloud-native, front-to-back platform that’s primed to serve institutional investors like never before,” said Clearwater Analytics CEO Sandeep Sahai.

Illinois-based Enfusion was founded in 1998 to help investment managers generate higher returns for their investors. The company’s cloud-based software, analytics, and middle/back-office managed services help institutional investment managers, hedge funds, and family offices build cultures of real-time, data-driven intelligence mixed with collaboration to make faster, more informed decisions while scaling their operations effectively.

“This transaction marks an exciting new chapter for all of Enfusion’s key stakeholders. Since our inception, we have proven that the versatility, scale, and depth of our solutions captures the hearts and minds of both traditional and alternative investment managers,” said Enfusion CEO Oleg Movchan. Together with Clearwater, our shared passion for building innovative technologies and enriching every aspect of the client journey will now accelerate and enhance our combined ability to support our clients’ evolving needs — whether they are expanding into new strategies, asset classes, or geographies.”

Clearwater Analytics automates the entire investment lifecycle with portfolio planning, performance reporting, data aggregation, reconciliation, accounting, compliance, risk, and order management. The Idaho-based company’s clients use its single instance, multi-tenant investment reporting software to aggregate, reconcile, and report on more than $7.3 trillion in assets across thousands of accounts every day.

Clearwater is acquiring Enfusion to advance its goal of creating a comprehensive, cloud-native platform that serves the entire investment management lifecycle. By integrating Enfusion’s front-office capabilities with its own middle and back-office solutions and client reporting tools, Clearwater aims to deliver a seamless end-to-end solution. The acquisition also expands Clearwater’s reach, leveraging Enfusion’s strong international presence as well as its expertise in the hedge fund market, which alone is expected to increase the total addressable market by $1.9 billion.

Enfusion stands to benefit significantly from the partnership, as well. Clearwater’s advanced execution infrastructure and expertise in generative AI are expected to enhance Enfusion’s operational efficiency and improve unit economics. Furthermore, Clearwater anticipates achieving $20 million in cost savings over the next two years, largely through streamlining general and administrative expenses.

“We expect to accelerate growth based on our increased right-to-win, higher back-to-base sales, greater presence across key geographies, and increased total addressable market. Coupled with our operating rigor and use of Generative AI, we have high confidence that we can drive meaningfully improved unit economics at Enfusion while also growing its emerging managed services business. Most importantly, this acquisition enables seamless data management from the front office to the back office, unlocking powerful network effects that amplify client value,” added Sahai.

Clearwater’s purchase price for Enfusion is $11.25 per share, which will be delivered in an equal mix of cash and stock. Clearwater has also agreed to pay $30 million to terminate Enfusion’s tax receivable agreement.

Photo by Mikhail Nilov

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Transcard Brings its Payment Orchestration Capabilities to Canada

Transcard Brings its Payment Orchestration Capabilities to Canada
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, TransCard
  • Tennessee-based Transcard is expanding to Canada.
  • Transcard has partnered with Xodus Travel Services to enhance digital payment experiences with its SMART Suite platform.
  • The expansion into Canada comes a month after Transcard earned authorization from the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to serve as a payment institution in the U.K. 

Tennessee-based Transcard is bringing its payment orchestration capabilities north of the border this week. The company recently went live with its first Canada-based customer, Xodus Travel Services. Xodus is leveraging Transcard’s SMART Suite to facilitate payment orchestration and enhance its digital payment experience.

“We’re excited to partner with Transcard as they expand their payment solutions in Canada,” said Xodus President and CEO David Rivelis. “By enabling their fast, secure, digital payment solutions, Xodus Travel Services will offer policyholders an improved claims experience with payment optionality and real time payment options.”

Transcard’s SMART Suite offers a range of tools to help banks, businesses, and fintechs make and receive digital payments and share payment data with their customers and suppliers. The embedded payment capabilities facilitate any payment type over any payment rail using any originating bank account. They work for both single and mass payments and can take place in real-time or be scheduled.

Transcard supports international payments across multiple currencies and languages, including Canadian French. Its solutions are designed to comply with global regulations, such as GDPR, RPAA, and PIPEDA, ensuring robust data protection standards.

“Launching in Canada marks a significant milestone in the company’s mission to enhance digital payment solutions worldwide,” said Transcard CEO Greg Bloh. “We’re excited to expand our capabilities, build more strategic partnerships and support customers in Canada.”

Transcard said that it plans to go live with more Canadian bank connections later this year. The company will also introduce real-time payment options including the Interac payment rail, virtual card capabilities, and push to debit.

Today’s news comes about a month after Transcard was granted authorization by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to serve as a payment institution in the U.K. 

Transcard was founded in 2012 and debuted a payments disbursement capability, Panuver, at FinovateSpring 2016. The company, which serves more than 500 companies with over 50 separate payment functions, offers solutions that combine multi-rail capabilities, embedded workflows, system of record integration, and reconciliation to support both B2B and B2C payments.

Photo by Andre Furtado

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doxo Launches doxoBILLS to Further Facilitate Consumer Billpay

doxo Launches doxoBILLS to Further Facilitate Consumer Billpay
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Doxo
  • doxo launched doxoBILLS, a new platform that combines six key features to help consumers manage household finances more effectively.
  • Among the new tools are all-in-one bill pay, real-time bank balance insights, credit score protection, $1 million in identity theft protection, and utility usage tracking.
  • While doxoBILLS offers standard features for free, premium options like identity theft protection and overdraft safeguards are available through the doxoPLUS subscription, priced at $5.99 per month.

Online billpay fintech doxo released its latest tool to help consumers stay on top of their household finances. The Seattle-based company launched doxoBILLS today, a single platform that offers six key features that aim to give consumers insight into and control of all of their household bills in a single place.

“We’re proud to introduce doxoBILLS, the next generation of our all-in-one bill pay product. doxoBILLS is the first and only solution to incorporate all six essential elements of paying bills into one simple and safe platform,” said doxo CEO and Co-Founder Steve Shivers. “This is a huge step for our continued mission to empower consumers in organizing and paying their household bills, which represent the most fundamental financial obligations of every American household. Legacy bill pay systems are fragmented – almost always organized around individual billers or individual financial institutions – but doxoBILLS puts the consumer in the driver’s seat, enabling a simple view of all bills and due dates, the ability to pay any bill with any financial institution, and integrates essential financial protections to improve credit, help reduce late fees and overdraft fees, and protect online security.”

doxoBILLS is built on doxo’s Bill Pay Operating System (Bill Pay OS), the company’s flagship service that enables payment management. doxoBILLS adds to this capability by bringing together not only all-in-one billpay, but also a wallet that keeps customers’ payment credentials hidden from billers, a bank balance feature that helps mitigate bank overdrafts by showing the consumer their current account balance in real time, credit score insight and protection, $1 million in identity theft protection, and utility usage insights.

Users can access doxoBILLS on the doxo mobile app and website. doxo offers its standard benefits for free, including the ability to pay any bill for free with a linked bank account. Users seeking premium features, such as identity theft protection, credit score protection, and overdraft protection, can sign up for a doxoPLUS subscription, which currently costs $5.99 per month (plus tax, where applicable).

Founded in 2008, doxo allows U.S. consumers a single place to pay over 120,000 billers using a standard checkout and secure payment experience. doxo leverages Plaid to securely access the consumer’s bank account, a feature that allows users to keep their account data secure. To date, 10 million people have used doxo’s billpay experience.

The new doxoBILLS product creates a recurring revenue stream for the company while also giving users more reasons to engage with their accounts. Features like identity protection and credit score monitoring will encourage existing users to log in more often and attract new users to the platform.

Photo by Mikhail Nilov

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Tales from the Crypto: Stablecoin vs Stablecoin , El Salvador vs the IMF on BTC, and More!

Tales from the Crypto: Stablecoin vs Stablecoin , El Salvador vs the IMF on BTC, and More!
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Daily news, List series

This week’s edition of Tales from the Crypto features an update on Ripple’s newly launched stablecoin RLUSD, El Salvador’s negotiated commitment to Bitcoin, as well as an acquisition and a new partnership.

Ripple’s RLUSD challenges PayPal’s PYUSD, Circle’s EURC

With a self-reported market cap of more than $53 million, Ripple’s stablecoin RLUSD recently surged past rival coins from PayPal (PYUSD) and Circle (EURC) in 24-hour trading volume. The volume, which topped $607 million, is all the more impressive given RLUSD’s relatively smaller market capitalization. PYUSD has a market cap of more than $491 million. EURC has a market cap of more than $82 million.

“As the U.S. moves toward clearer regulations, we expect to see greater adoption of stablecoins like RLUSD, which offer real utility and are backed by years of trust and expertise in the industry,” Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said in December when RLUSD was launched.

RLUSD is an enterprise-grade, USD-denominated stablecoin. Each RLUSD token is fully backed by U.S. dollar deposits, U.S. government bonds, and cash equivalents to ensure stability, reliability, and liquidity. Ripple will use RLUSD to facilitate global payments for its enterprise customers via its Ripple Payments division. There has been some curiosity over Ripple’s decision to limit RLUSD circulation. At least one analyst has suggested the move may be an effort to keep the price of RLUSD relatively stable — and less vulnerable to a rapid decline in value.

Ripple’s RLUSD news comes as the company is announcing that it has adopted the Chainlink standard for verifiable data on the Ethereum blockchain. The move will boost the utility of RLUSD throughout the “on-chain economy,” the company noted in a statement this week. Also recently, Ripple reported that its CEO along with Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty, met with President-elect Donald Trump.

“Great dinner last night with Donald Trump & Stuart Alderoty,” Garlinghouse wrote on X, “Strong start to 2025!”

El Salvador forges ahead in its Bitcoin acquisition

How has recent strength and interest in Bitcoin impacted El Salvador, which embraced the cryptocurrency like no other country when it elected to allow Bitcoin to be used as legal tender in 2021?

On the one hand, the value of Bitcoin has soared in recent years. In June 2021, when El Salvador enacted the new policy, BTC was roughly $35,000. Today, the cryptocurrency is valued at more than $94,000, after topping the $100,000 mark in mid-December.

On the other hand, the windfall has reached relatively few individual Salvadoreans. While the government tried to incentivize Bitcoin ownership with $30 in BTC for those who signed up for digital wallets, it turns out that many who received the $30 in Bitcoin quickly cashed out their holdings. Additionally, as the country’s former Central Bank president Carlos Acevedo noted, any BTC gains remain unrealized until sold.

Further, El Salvador is in some ways still wrestling with the International Monetary Fund over the Fund’s preference that the country reduce, or at least limit, its exposure to cryptocurrencies in exchange for financial support. A recent financing deal valued at $1.4 billion (£1.1 billion) was secured between the two parties, but the extent to which El Salvador will curtail its Bitcoin policies remains a bit unclear. While the deal specifies that tax payments will be made in the U.S. dollar, for example, which is El Salvador’s other official currency, the government has insisted that it will continue to buy BTC.

Backpack acquires FTX EU to expand in the European crypto market

International cryptocurrency exchange Backpack has acquired FTX EU, the former European arm of FTX. The transaction was approved by the FTX bankruptcy court as well as the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) and will enable Backpack’s EU division to offer a full suite of crypto derivatives throughout the EU.

The fact that FTX EU was a MiFID II-licensed institution played a significant role in Backpack’s acquisition decision. “As many international exchanges exit the European Union, becoming a MiFID II-licensed entity demonstrates our dedication to meeting the highest regulatory standards and is a significant step to bringing transparent, secure, and regulated crypto trading to an underserved European market,” Backpack Exchange Founder and CEO Armani Ferrante said.

Founded in 2022 and headquartered in Singapore, Backpack Exchange serves cryptocurrency customers in more than 150 countries and regions. With more than $60 billion in trading volume, Backpack Exchange offers a range of products and services including its noncustodial Backpack Wallet, Backpack Exchange, and Solana-based NFT community Mad Lads.

As part of the acquisition, Backpack EU will be responsible for distributing previously court-approved FTX bankruptcy claims to FTX EU customers. Ferrante underscored this in a statement, adding that “customer restitution is a crucial step to rebuild trust and confidence in the industry, and Backpack is committed to returning FTX EU customers’ funds as fast and as safely as possible.”

Trillium Surveyor partners with Kaiko

Trade surveillance and best execution software provider Trillium Surveyor has forged a strategic partnership with cryptocurrency market data provider Kaiko. The goal of the partnership will be to deliver “best-in-class solutions” to financial institutions and exchanges involved in cryptocurrency trading. The two companies will provide an integrated solution that blends Trillium’s trade surveillance technology with Kaiko’s crypto market data in order to help financial institutions quickly, accurately, and efficiently identify and stop inappropriate trading activity.

“A robust, easily configurable trade surveillance tool is essential to support institutions as they navigate the rapidly changing crypto regulatory environment,” Kaiko CEO Ambre Soubiran said. “This partnership with Trillium Surveyor underscores our commitment to providing the critical data needed for transparency and trust in the crypto ecosystem.”

Founded in 2014 and maintaining offices in New York, London, Singapore, and Paris, Kaiko is a leading provider of cryptocurrency market data, analytics, and indices, ensuring businesses have access to institutional-grade, regulatory-compliant solutions. With global connectivity to real-time and historical data feeds across the top exchanges in the world, Kaiko recently announced an enhancement to its market data platform courtesy of an integration with leading European cryptocurrency exchange Bitvavo.

Trillium Surveyor helps capital markets firms save time and money — and remain compliant — with a trade surveillance platform that balances power with ease of use. The company’s technology enables companies to monitor their trading health, learn about key new events, access and analyze relevant data surrounding these events, and then act on that data with built-in workflow tools. Featuring actionable insights across equities, derivatives, fixed income, and cryptocurrency markets, Trillium Surveyor helps its customers build compliance programs that are both efficient and cost-effective. Headquartered in New York, Trillium Surveyor was launched in 2014.

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TransUnion to Buy Credit Eligibility and Distribution Platform Monevo

TransUnion to Buy Credit Eligibility and Distribution Platform Monevo
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Mergers & Acquisitions, TransUnion
  • TransUnion will acquire credit eligibility and distribution platform Monevo, expanding its capabilities in credit prequalification and personalized credit offers.
  • Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
  • TransUnion originally acquired a 30% stake in Monevo in 2021 and will acquire the remaining ownership position from Monevo’s majority stakeholder, Quint Group Limited.

Credit protection platform TransUnion announced it will acquire credit eligibility and distribution platform Monevo. Terms of the deal, which is expected to close by the second quarter of this year, were not disclosed.

U.K.-based Monevo was founded in 2008 to help comparison websites and online publishers embed personalized credit offers into their websites. It also works with more than 150 banks and credit providers worldwide, using centralized technology to connect lenders with publishers. This lets consumers see their chances of being approved for credit products before applying, which helps them save time and protect their credit scores from unnecessary checks.

“I founded Monevo to improve access to credit for consumers through technology, and today it is powering credit distribution for some of the world’s largest banks and lenders,” said Quint Group and Monevo CEO Greg Cox. “This acquisition is the natural next step in Monevo’s future growth and success, and would unlock new opportunities to innovate by uniting these two complementary businesses, whose values are already strongly aligned.”

In October 2021, TransUnion formed a strategic partnership with Monevo, acquiring a 30% stake in the company. Today, TransUnion has agreed to acquire the remaining ownership position from Monevo’s majority stakeholder, Quint Group Limited.

“Over the last three years, our partnership with Monevo has helped address gaps in the consumer experience. Together, we plan to deliver high-quality offers at scale with minimal support needed from our partners,” said TransUnion President, U.S. Markets Steve Chaouki. “Additionally, we continue to make good progress on broadening our value proposition and go-to-market strategy in the direct-to-consumer business and expect to have more to share in the coming quarters.”

Today’s acquisition enables TransUnion to enhance its credit prequalification and distribution capabilities. By integrating Monevo’s technology, TransUnion will connect its lender clients with consumers through more personalized credit offers. This partnership strengthens TransUnion’s ability to serve both lenders and consumers, streamline customer acquisition for financial institutions, and empower consumers to make informed borrowing decisions with minimal impact on their credit scores.

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Thomson Reuters Acquires Tax Technology Provider SafeSend

Thomson Reuters Acquires Tax Technology Provider SafeSend
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Mergers & Acquisitions, Thomson Reuters
  • Thomson Reuters has agreed to acquire SafeSend in a $600 million deal.
  • Thomson Reuters will integrate SafeSend’s tax automation solutions to help tax professionals improve efficiency, particularly as the U.S. faces a shortage of tax professionals.
  • Thomson Reuters will preserve the SafeSend brand and continue to offer it as a publicly available solution.

In the U.S., many savvy taxpayers will start working on their 2024 taxes now that the new year has arrived. That might be what content and technology company Thomson Reuters had in mind when it agreed this week to acquire tax technology company SafeSend for $600 million in cash.

Founded in 2008, SafeSend helps accountants and bookkeepers automate aspects of their clients’ tax returns, including assembly, review, taxpayer e-signature, and delivery. The company’s software is used by 70% of the top 500 accounting firms in the U.S. The Michigan-based company is expected to generate approximately $60 million of revenue in 2025 and grow more than 25% annually in the next few years.

“The needs of our customers and their clients drive every decision we make at Thomson Reuters. This acquisition underscores our commitment to addressing the evolving challenges faced by tax professionals and taxpayers alike,” said Thomson Reuters President of Tax, Audit and Accounting Professionals Elizabeth Beastrom. “By integrating SafeSend’s innovative technology with our existing solutions, we’re simplifying tax preparation workflows, and meeting the dynamic demands of businesses we serve to help them thrive in an increasingly complex tax landscape.”

Thomson Reuters expects the acquisition will add to its services catering to tax and accounting professionals. SafeSend’s wide range of solutions will help tax preparers and their teams create more efficient workflows fueled by online file transfer tools, e-signature solutions, client communication products, and more.

Going forward, Thomson Reuters will preserve the SafeSend brand and continue to offer it as a publicly available solution. This decision to preserve the SafeSend brand and offer it as a standalone solution suggests that the SafeSend brand and its reputation carry value. For SafeSend, being backed by Thomson Reuters opens up new opportunities for launching new technologies, scaling, and reaching a wider audience.

“Today marks an exciting new chapter for SafeSend customers,” said SafeSend Co-founder Steve Dusablon. “Becoming a part of Thomson Reuters will enable us to accelerate product development efforts and realize our shared vision of an end-to-end tax workflow solution.”

Thomson Reuters, which has demoed at two Finovate events, offers legal, tax, risk, supply chain, and other solutions in addition to its media business. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol TRI and currently has a market capitalization of $72.9 billion.

Thomson Reuters’ acquisition of SafeSend comes at a time when the U.S. is seeing a decrease in the number of tax professionals. SafeSend’s technology will help tax professionals and firms streamline their operations amid growing regulatory complexity and heightened client expectations.

Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich

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UK-Based Insurtech Uinsure Partners with Suffolk Building Society

UK-Based Insurtech Uinsure Partners with Suffolk Building Society
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Daily news
  • U.K.-based insurtech Uinsure has forged a partnership with Suffolk Building Society.
  • The collaboration will make Uinsure’s insurance solutions for homeowners, landlords, and others available to Suffolk Building Society customers whether they seek insurance via the branch or online.
  • Founded in 2007, Uinsure is headquartered in Manchester, U.K. Simon Taylor is CEO.

The latest partnership announcement from Manchester-based insurtech, Uinsure, underscores the strengthening position the firm has in the U.K. financial services market in general and the country’s insurance industry in particular. Uinsure has teamed up with Suffolk Building Society, which will make the insurtech’s insurance solutions available to Suffolk Building Society’s customer base both in-branch and online.

“As a mutual society, the ‘bricks and clicks’ model is at the heart of what we do,” Suffolk Building Society Head of Membership Nathan Wade explained. “This offering from Uinsure means staff from across our branches can continue to give excellent face-to-face customer service to those who value it most. But others can easily access the insurance through our website, along with our other online services.”

Over the past year, Uinsure has teamed up with building societies including Leeds Building Society, Nottingham Building Society, Leek Building Society, and more. The insurtech also onboarded more than 230 financial intermediary partner firms in 2024, all of whom will offer insurance products to their customers by way of UinsureCX technology. Uinsure noted that it plans to announce a number of new major partners in the first quarter of 2025.

According to IBIS World, building societies in the U.K. are expected to see their revenue grow at a compound rate in excess of 22% over the five years through 2024-2025 to more than $60 billion (£49 billion). This includes estimated growth of 6.5% in 2024-2025. The largest player in the business by far is Nationwide Building Society (£272 billion in total assets), followed by Yorkshire Building Society (£74.23 billion in total assets) and Coventry Building Society (£61.73 billion in total assets). In addition to being the largest building society in the U.K., Nationwide Building Society is also the third largest mortgage lender in the country, according to Statista, with 12% of the U.K.’s gross mortgage lending. For its part, Suffolk Building Society has £799 million in total assets and is ranked 21st among U.K. building societies.

“2024 has been a transformational year for us and this partnership with Suffolk Building Society is another major step as we change perceptions of how insurance can be offered and arranged across the country,” Uinsure Chief Distribution Officer Lauren Bagley said. “We’ve seen remarkable growth that has largely been driven by our expanded partner network. Our collective commitment to customer experience is at the heart of these collaborations and is a major reason why we’ve been able to make a success of the partnerships we’ve launched this year.”

Founded in 2007, Uinsure offers home insurance, buy-to-let (BTL)/ landlords insurance, and non-standard and specialist insurance solutions. The company’s technology helps advisers remove the complexity and time-consuming aspects of accessing insurance products, leveraging Big Data and third-party integrations to, for example, pre-fill account information. To this end, Uinsure’s technology only requires an applicant’s name, date of birth, and postcode in order to provide personalized quotes in 20 seconds. Simon Taylor is Uinsure’s CEO.

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Chainalysis Acquires Web3 Security Company Hexagate

Chainalysis Acquires Web3 Security Company Hexagate
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Blockchain data platform Chainalysis has acquired web3 security solutions provider Hexagate.
  • Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
  • The acquisition aligns with Chainalysis’ mission to build trust in blockchain ecosystems by integrating Hexagate’s machine learning-based threat detection and prevention technology, benefiting chains, protocols, and exchanges.

Blockchain data platform Chainalysis has acquired web3 security solutions provider Hexagate this week. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Hexagate’s security solutions detect and mitigate real-time threats, including cyber exploits, hacks, and governance and financial risks to help chains, protocols, asset managers, and exchanges keep their funds secure. The Israel-based company monitors blockchain networks and leverages machine learning to identify suspicious patterns and transactions in real-time. Hexagate’s customers include Coinbase and Consensys.

“I have long believed that in order to advance the Chainalysis mission to build trust in blockchains, we would need to expand our business beyond investigations and into prevention,” said Chainalysis Co-founder and CEO Jonathan Levin.

With billions of dollars in crypto stolen each year, Chainalysis anticipates that Hexagate will help create a safer financial platform that fosters trust in solutions. Levin added that protecting the crypto ecosystem will only become more crucial as smart contracts facilitate more value and the use of stablecoins grow. He also noted that governments are increasing the monitoring of smart contracts associated with illicit funds.

Chainalysis was founded in 2014 and has raised $537 million. Among its offerings are automated cryptocurrency transaction monitoring software, investigation software for tracing the flow of funds across blockchains, and profiles of cryptocurrency businesses. Today’s deal marks the company’s third acquisition, following its purchase of Transpose in 2023.

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BVNK Raises $50 Million for its Stablecoin Infrastructure Platform

BVNK Raises $50 Million for its Stablecoin Infrastructure Platform
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Funding
  • U.K.-based stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK secured a $50 million Series B round, boosting its valuation to $750 million.
  • The round was led by Haun Ventures with participation from Coinbase Ventures and Tiger Global.
  • BVNK plans to launch in the U.S. next month with offices in New York and San Francisco.

As living proof that the stablecoin revolution is underway, stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK has raised $50 million. The investment is the U.K.-based fintech’s first round since 2022 and boosts its valuation to around $750 million.

Haun Ventures led the Series B round, which also included participation from Coinbase Ventures and existing investor Tiger Global. Notably, Haun Ventures is also an investor in stablecoin infrastructure startup Bridge, which was acquired by Stripe for over $1 billion in October of this year.

“Every competitor of Stripe is coming to us saying, ‘Stripe’s done this, how can we get involved in the space now?'” BVNK cofounder and CEO Jesse Hemson-Struthers told Fortune.

Stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies pegged to fiat or a physical asset, have the potential to bring significant value to users. That’s because they are both instant and inexpensive, unlike payments made via traditional payments rails such as SWIFT. Stablecoins have exceptional potential for cross-border payments and remittances. They offer greater accessibility compared to traditional banking systems, while also mitigating the volatility typically associated with other cryptocurrencies.

Stablecoin infrastructure companies like BVNK and its competitor Bridge are key players in the stablecoin space, as they serve as on-and-off ramps for converting fiat into stablecoins and back.

BVNK was founded in 2021 and currently processes an annualized volume of $10 billion. The company integrates with established banking networks like SWIFT and SEPA to provide real-time settlement and the ability to operate outside of standard banking hours. BVNK has historically focused on the European and Asian markets, but plans to launch in the U.S. next month, opening offices in New York and San Francisco.

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Current Bags $200 Million in New Capital

Current Bags $200 Million in New Capital
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Funding
  • Digital challenger bank Current raised $200 million, boosting its total funding to over $600 million.
  • Current plans to use the funding to enhance and scale its accessible financial products that promote inclusion.
  • As part of today’s announcement, Current reported a 90% revenue increase this year and welcomed new investors General Catalyst and Cross River Bank.

Digital bank Current received $200 million in fresh capital this week. Along with the announcement, the New York-based company revealed that it experienced a record-breaking year, seeing a 90% increase in revenue.

The company has raised just over $600 million, inclusive of today’s round. Current plans to use the funds to build more accessible financial solutions.

Existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Wellington Management, and Avenir contributed to the round. Two new investors, General Catalyst and Cross River, also participated. Current expects General Catalyst’s investment will drive member acquisition and fuel profitability. The company also said that Cross River Bank is extending warehouse funding to support Current’s Paycheck Advance product and credit-building card offering.

“Millions of Americans are struggling with affordable access to liquidity and credit,” said Current CEO and co-founder Stuart Sopp. “This new capital provides us the most efficient way to scale these solutions, including providing even higher limits of our earned wage access product to more people and setting our company on the best path to long-term success, including reaching profitability in 2025.”

Current was founded in 2015 to create a banking system that’s more affordable, accessible, and innovative. The company has a credit-building card, early paycheck advance product, fee-free overdraft, crypto trading platform, as well as a high-yield savings account with a transaction round-up savings feature.

“Current’s tremendous growth this year showcases the true product-market fit it has unlocked,” said General Catalyst’s Roy Mabrey. “We are excited to invest in the future of Current because of its demonstrated ability to scale with great unit economics and the key gap it is stepping up to fill in the market for millions of Americans who are struggling to make ends meet. We look forward  to supporting Stuart and the team as they continue to grow and be at the forefront of product innovation.”

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Mesh Payments Integrates with SoFi’s Galileo

Mesh Payments Integrates with SoFi’s Galileo
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, SoFi

Travel and expense management company Mesh Payments has selected SoFi as its sponsor bank and has tapped SoFi-owned Galileo Financial Technologies as its payment processor.

Mesh Payments is an all-in-one corporate payments platform for travel and expense that integrates corporate cards, expense management, and travel bookings on a single platform. Mesh Payments offers SaaS enterprises cardless payments capabilities that enable full visibility, control, and intelligence to help them orchestrate, manage, reconcile, and ultimately reduce spending. The company, which processes more than $1 billion in annual payment volume, was founded in 2018.

Under the partnership, Mesh Payments’ expense and card infrastructure will tap SoFi’s financial framework and Galileo’s customizable, API-based payments processing platform. Mesh Payments anticipates that leveraging both SoFi as its sponsor bank and Galileo as its processing platform will help it offer more streamlined enterprise expense management, reduce inefficiencies, and bring solutions to market more quickly.

“We’re excited to partner with SoFi and Galileo, as both companies share our vision of delivering the most modern and innovative financial solutions for businesses,” said Mesh CEO Oded Zehavi. “They are the ideal partners to support our mission to provide companies with an efficient, forward-thinking approach to corporate travel and expense management.”

Founded in 2001, Galileo offers a payment processing platform that allows third-party fintechs and businesses to build and scale their own financial services offerings. The company’s client list includes DailyPay, Bluevine, Dave, MoneyLion, Monzo, and others. Galileo was acquired by SoFi in 2020 in a $1.2 billion deal.

Founded in 2011, SoFi has evolved from a lending platform into a nationally chartered bank that offers checking and savings accounts, investing tools, and insurance plans. The company landed its first sponsor bank deal in April of 2024 when it partnered with small business banking platform Rapid Finance.

“SoFi is proud to provide the financial backbone for forward-thinking solutions like Mesh Payments,” said SoFi Bank President Paul Mayer. “With SoFi and Galileo under one roof, we empower partners like Mesh Payments to harness Galileo’s advanced cloud-based banking core, enabling them to launch new products faster, scale seamlessly, and stay ahead of their customers’ ever-changing needs.”

Photo by Pixabay

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Themis Lands $9.2 Million to Scale its Governance, Risk, and Compliance Platform

Themis Lands $9.2 Million to Scale its Governance, Risk, and Compliance Platform
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Funding, Themis

Correction: This post previously incorrectly reported that Atlanta, Georgia-based Themis raised funds. Today’s round is actually attributed to U.K.-based Themis. While both companies operate in the regtech realm, the former, a Finovate alum that recently won Best of Show, offers a platform that streamlines compliance and collaboration between fintechs and banks, bringing regulatory insight to help banks and fintechs more effectively manage compliance. The latter is a digital financial crime platform that helps businesses manage their financial crime risk exposure.

  • Regtech platform Themis raised over $9.2 million (£7.25 million) in its scale-up round.
  • The round, which is expected to close on December 16, 2024, exceeds Themis’ initial target by a significant margin.
  • Themis will use the funds to leverage AI to continue to democratize due dilligence.

Regtech is rising across the fintech sector, and to prove it, financial crime risk management platform Themis has pulled in more than $9.2 million (£7.25 million) in a scale-up round that surpasses its target.

“Exceeding our funding target reflects not only the confidence of our investors but also the strong financial fundamentals and scalability of our business,” said Themis CFO Simon Samuel. “This additional capital provides us with the financial runway to strategically invest in key areas like AI innovation, market expansion, and operational efficiencies, ensuring long-term sustainable growth.”

The investment, which is expected to close on December 16th of this year, exceeds Themis’ initial target of $3.8 million to $6.3 million (£3 million to £5 million). Once finalized, the funds will add to the U.K.-based company’s existing $6 million (£4.8 million) raised, totaling more than $15 million.

“Surpassing our Scale-Up Funding target by such a significant margin demonstrates the strength of Themis’ vision and its relevance in today’s financial landscape,” said Themis CEO Dickon Johnstone.

Themis was founded in 2018 to help reduce the global impacts of financial crime. The company’s platform, which helps clients identify and manage their specific financial crime risks, leverages KYC and AML data to help companies verify the true identity of their clients while remaining compliant. Themis will use this most recent round to pursue its mission to democratize due diligence by leveraging AI advancements with its financial crime expertise.

Financial services has experienced a surge in regtech adoption, driven by the growth of AI and machine learning, as well as an evolving regulatory landscape. In 2025, regtech is poised to further enhance compliance processes with real-time risk management, automated reporting, and enhanced collaboration between banks and regulators. According to Angela Strange, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, regulation will become code.

“Today, banking and insurance regulations span tens of thousands of pages; SBA lending documentation alone exceeds 1,000 pages,” said Strange. “For businesses, keeping on top of these codes requires byzantine workflows and many hours spent hiring and training staff. Imagine, instead, that those lengthy documents — including text, images, and case precedents — could be used to train regulation-specific LLMs. Suddenly, compliance would become as simple as a Google query. ‘Is [X] compliant? What modifications need to be made?'”

Photo by Meriç Dağlı on Unsplash

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