Weekly update #11

Welcome to this edition of the weekly newsletter. The idea behind this activity is to gather all the information in the startup ecosystem in one place, with a special focus on the fintech market.

This week was characterised by a general return to business as usual operations on various markets after the Christmas holidays. One piece of news above all, was certainly the approval of the 11 spot ETFs on Bitcoin by the SEC, a confirmation long awaited by all the crypto enthusiasts.

But as you can see below, the market wasn't enthusiastic as well:

The long awaited approval of Bitcoin ETF was anticipated by the hacking of SEC's account on X, that triggered a spike, and then a fall down, on the price of Bitcoin just one day before the official news. So at the moment we didn't saw the huge inflow of capitals anticipated by many investors, and we are still waiting to go to the moon (cit.).

Obviously, this doesn't mean either that BTC is dead. Complex operations like the construction of an ETF on Bitcoin takes time, and this market segment is expected to grow exponentially in the upcoming years.

Apart from Bitcoin, we also saw some interesting news on the #Fintech market, with a new stream of capitals flowing into startups all over the world.

But let's take a closer look at the main news of the last seven days:

Closed deals

• Saudi based تعميد | Tameed secures $15 million Series A;
• Jakarta based Komunal Indonesia just extended his Series A with another $5.5 million;
• UAE based Maalexi just raised $3 million in a pre-series A;
• Nigerian based Cleva Banking (YC W24) just raised a $1.5 million pre-seed;
• UK based ZILO™ just a closed a stunning $25 million Series A;
• Kazakhstan based fintech Solva raises $20 million;
• AbbeyCross raises $6.5 million for their new FX platform;
• Belgian based Unbox raised $12 million from HSBC Asset Management;
• London based Ryft secures a £5 million grant in the UK;
• Brazilian based Conta Simples closes a $41.5 million Series B;
• Zurich based Rivero just raised a $7 million series A funding round;
• Grip Invest closed a $10 million funding round lead by Stride Ventures;
• Brazilian paytech LINA raised $1.6 million to offer open accounts in the country;
• Pier closes a $2.4 million seed to build the Stripe for credit;
• hyperexponential lands an impressive $73 million Series B;
• Florida based startup Downpayments lends a $32.8 million funding round.

Strategic moves on the market

• Neobank Dave strikes a $71 Million deal with FTX liquidators;
• Ant Group to acquire 100% of MultiSafepay for $200 million;
• SEC's account violated by hackers posts confirmation on Bitcoin ETF;
• German neobroker Trade Republic finally becomes profitable;
• X unveils payments peer-to-peer on his 2024 roadmap;
• The real approval of Bitcoin ETF by SEC;
• The italian software house Bending Spoons closes the strategic acquisition Mosaic Group;
• Asset management giant BlackRock acquires Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) for $12.5 billion;
• Trading giant Robinhood acquires UK media company Chartr to add to his media house Sherwood.

A special look in the Italian market

• Contents.com closes a $18 million series B;
• indigo.ai raised a $2.5 million round from Vedrai group.

Insights on the VC industry

• Barcelona based Encomenda Capital Partners SGEIC raised $50 million to invest into south European startup.

Startups raising funds

• PopulaRise - The platform that allows companies of every dimension to promote themselves on social media through the collaboration with their clients. B2B2C SaaS. Raising $1M.
• Cents - Fintech companies that allow corporate to include charity payments on their checkout. B2B SaaS. Raising $1M. Round closed!
• Bitcoin People - Fintech company focused on crypto payments between corporate and cross countries. B2B, SaaS. Raising $500k.
• Tutornow - Edtech that provides an online tutoring platform for students with learning disorders. Raising $500k to $1M.
• Recivu - Fintech  startup trying to digitize the receipt flow by getting rid of papers. Looking for $150k in SAFE, already $50k committed.
• Weagle - B2B Tech startup that provides the very first browser designed for company, with total security for sensitive data. Raising $6 millions for their seed round.
• Reach Finance - Reach is the fintech platform for wealth accumulation for the Y&Z generations, they provide users with the tools to build wealth such as a budget tracker, a financial plan and a systematization of investments. Looking for $700k, with already $500k committed;
• wrapp.ai - A fintech startups that offers a virtual accountant and CFO that can help SMEs scale globally. Looking for $1 million, $750k already granted from public funds, looking to close the last $350k.
• Viewit - Fintech startup, providing smart solution to boost management and performances, get more financing and innovate. Raising $500k.

If you are a startup and want to be present in this list, please contact me directly.

If you are an angel investor or a VC interested in those companies, contact me for an intro!

Take also a look at the last edition of the newsletter, Weekly update #10.