We are only three days into this week, and we’ve already seen a huge wave of fintech funding announcements come in. In fact, there have been not one, not three, not five, but 10 fintech companies that have secured substantial funding rounds this week.
This surge signals a promising comeback, hinting at a possible resurgence of venture funding in the fintech sector for 2024. Here’s a look at the funding announcements so far this week.
- Financial software and technology provider Computer Services, Inc. (CSI) landed a strategic investment from private equity firm TA. The amount of this week’s round was undisclosed.
- Asset and wealth management software specialist Zilo raised $31.8 million (£25 million) in Series A funding. The round was co-led by Fidelity International Strategic Ventures and Portage.
- Unbox, a value exchange network, closed $13.2 million (€12 million) in a funding round led by HSBC. Unbox will use the majority of the funds to fuel talent recruitment.
- Investment portfolio company Allied Payment Network received additional strategic investment from growth capital firm RF Investment Partners. The amount of this week’s round was undisclosed.
- B2B subscription commerce platform AppDirect secured an additional $100 million investment from global investment group CDPQ. The funds will be used to support financing options for technology advisors through the company’s AppDirect Capital Invest program.
- Maalexi, a risk management platform assuring payment and performance for small agri-businesses in cross border trade, raised $3 million in a round led by Global Ventures.
- Singapore-based BNPL firm Atome raised $31 million from parent company Advance Intelligence Group.
- Digital asset custodian Finoa brought in a $15 million investment led by Maven 11 Capital and Balderton Capital. The company’s valuation remains flat at $100 million.
- Brazil-based Conta Simples brought in $41.5 million (R$200,000,000) for its expense management technology. The company will use the funds to grow its team and expand its client base.
- Africa-based fintech Cleva raised $1.5 million in pre-seed funding for its technology that enables African users to receive USD payments.
Overall, the 10 rounds add up to more than $237 million. This might not seem like a lot when compared to 2021 funding levels. However, it is impressive when juxtaposed against last year’s first quarter funding numbers. When looking at the funding raised by Finovate alumni, we found that 13 companies raised a total of $453 million in the first quarter of 2023. Considering this benchmark, fintechs are off to a good start in 2024.
But don’t get too excited. This week’s brisk pace of fintech funding may not be completely indicative of a comeback. The ten rounds in three days can likely be attributed to the buildup of deals that were almost complete in the fourth quarter of last year, but were put off after the holidays.
Regardless of the reason, let’s hope that 2024 is a happy and healthy year for fintech funding.
Photo by César Couto on Unsplash