Builders in Fintech — Friday 23 October: OpenAI raises $30B, 11 more rounds
LSEG agreed to buy credit data provider Octus from Permira for $3.535 billion in cash, nine days after confirming talks, as it raised its 2026 outlook. In funding, Coast raised $35 million led by Thomvest Ventures for its platform for field businesses, and Bold secured a COP 37.45 billion loan from BBVA Spark. The Central Bank of Ireland fined Coinbase Ireland €3.25 million over safeguarding, and Ziina became the first homegrown UAE fintech to hold licences across stored value, retail payments and exchange.
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LSEG agrees to acquire credit data provider Octus from Permira for $3.535B in cash
What is new: LSEG has agreed to buy Octus, nine days after confirming talks, for $3.535 billion in cash from funds advised by Permira and Octus management,…
LSEG's $3.5 billion bet shows private credit data is now priced as core market infrastructure, raising the bar for independent credit-intelligence providers and fintechs selling to private credit managers.
Rounds · last 7 days: 45 · Funding Index (2026-W42): 204
Our news
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Image: latamfintech.co Bold secures a COP 37.45B (about $11.3M) loan from BBVA Spark to expand lending to Colombian merchantsColombian payments fintech Bold has secured a bilateral loan of COP 37,450 million, about $11.3 million, from BBVA Spark.
Image: tech.eu The FSE Group launches the £70M+ Future London Growth Fund with the British Business Bank and Funding LondonThe FSE Group has launched the Future London Growth Fund, a debt fund that expects to lend more than £70 million to scale-ups across London's 32 boroughs and…
Image: startuprise.co.uk Turbine Capital closes its debut fund at €54M to back early-stage Nordic deeptechTurbine Capital has closed its first fund at €54 million, about SEK 608 million, to invest in early-stage deeptech companies across the Nordics, mainly in…
Image: tech.eu Masia closes its €18M debut fund and opens Masia House, a Barcelona hub for frontier tech foundersBarcelona's Masia has closed its €18 million debut fund to invest in early-stage AI and frontier tech companies with a Barcelona connection.
Central Bank of Ireland fines Coinbase Ireland €3.25M over safeguarding and outsourcing failuresThe Central Bank of Ireland has fined Coinbase Ireland, Coinbase's licensed e-money arm, €3,252,618 for breaching safeguarding and outsourcing obligations…
- Ziina becomes the first homegrown UAE fintech with Central Bank licences across payments, stored value and exchange
Ziina has secured a Retail Payment Services Category III licence and authorisation for Exchange Business Category IV activities, under its existing Stored…
The rounds
| Company | Round | Lead investor | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI source | — | — | $30B |
| PitchBook source | New capital (fund-of-funds, secondaries, growth) | — | $920M |
| FundPark source | Debt facility | Bain Capital | $250M |
| Whop source | Series D | — | $200M |
| Zyphra source | Fund 2 (close) | — | $160M |
| Cognitive Credit source | — | — | $40M |
| Coast source | Growth equity | Thomvest Ventures | $35M |
| Slingshot source | Seed | Rally Ventures | $27M |
| CapitalOS source | Series A | — | $21.9M |
| Ultra Security source | Seed | — | $10M |
| Rebill source | Pre-Series A | — | $5.4M |
| Revolut source | Fund Nova (first close) | European Investment Fund | €600M |
Quick hits
Banking
- US SoFi launched SoFi Earn (SOFIE), a national bank-issued tokenized deposit for consumers that earns 4.40% APY with FDIC insurance and converts 1:1 into its SoFiUSD stablecoin to buy crypto or move funds 24/7. — SoFi via PubT
Payments
- US Stripe launched Treasury for agents, letting startups check balances, pay invoices, move funds between accounts and convert currencies through ChatGPT and Claude, with agent spending limits due in the coming weeks. — Stripe via PubT
- US Mastercard is expanding its First-Party Trust programme against friendly fraud, available in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa from October 2026 and across Europe from July 2027. — Finextra Research
Other
- US Robinhood received Dubai Financial Services Authority authorisation and chose DIFC as its Middle East headquarters, offering trading and custody across all 10 DFSA-approved asset classes, with a launch planned for 2027. — Robinhood via PubT
Crypto
- AE Bybit Fintech FZE secured a VASP licence from Dubai's VARA for exchange services covering spot trading, and hopes to add derivatives later, subject to regulatory approvals. — Bybit via Benzinga
- CH Switzerland's FINMA approved BIT Asset Management's Bitcoin Fund ETF (BBIT), the country's first spot bitcoin ETF for retail investors, expected to start trading on SIX Swiss Exchange in November. — BIT Asset Management via Benzinga
Number of the day
204
33 rounds this week · baseline 16.17
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