Weekly update #127

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

The latest of Builders has been released this week! in this episode, I sit down with Aurimas Bakas, CEO and founder of Copla. You can watch the full episode here on YouTube, or listen to it here on Spotify, here on Amazon Podcast or here on Apple Podcast. In the meanwhile, here a short clip from the video:

Aurimas is a serial fintech entrepreneur and chief executive with over two decades of experience building and scaling technology-driven businesses across Europe and globally. He is currently the co-founder of Copla, focusing on bridging the gap between cyber readiness and operational security in fintech.

Aurimas is best known for founding Paysolut, a banking technology company serving fintech scale-ups, which was successfully acquired by SumUp in 2021. His track record also includes multiple exits, such as DtecNet to Markmonitor and Marguard to Prisync | Dynamic Pricing, alongside leadership roles in companies later acquired by QUAERO CAPITAL .

Earlier in his career, he played a key role in expanding international operations for Gaumina and scaling DtecNet into a global anti-piracy leader. His experience spans payments, data infrastructure, and enterprise software, complemented by executive education at UC Berkeley.

Coming back to us, this week I’ve been reading a very interesting report, the “Scaleup Playbook: insider track to the series A” from Tech Nation and Airwallex . The report is a very interesting survey across 5,000+ businesses, accelerating 1,250 of them through 50+ growth programmes, with insider insights of Europe’s foremost startup leaders to uncover the real lessons behind scaling a company through its most formative stage. Here my main takeaways:

Fewer than 10% of VC-backed startups in Europe reach Series A, with conversion rates varying across markets. Germany shows relatively stronger progression, while France, the UK, and the Netherlands see sharper drop-offs at each stage, from Pre-Seed through later rounds.

To address this gap, a scaleup playbook based on insights from more than 300 European tech founders outlines key priorities. Building scalable operations and hiring effectively remains critical, with half of founders citing early team selection as their main challenge. Achieving product-market fit often requires intentional pivots, while preparing for Series A depends on developing a strong narrative and robust metrics, with 38% identifying investor alignment as a key hurdle.

Financial infrastructure also plays a central role, as 25% of internationally active startups report cross-border payment issues slowing expansion. Looking ahead, many founders plan to leverage AI to accelerate growth and strengthen execution.

Validating product market fit remains a decisive step for startups, with two thirds of founders identifying direct customer interviews as the most effective approach, ahead of analytics or AI tools. Speed and iteration are central, as many adopt a build fast and test early mindset to maintain momentum rather than refining products in isolation.

Rapid prototyping, product usage data, and early pricing strategies are also used to assess real demand, while a smaller share leverages AI to interpret customer behaviour. Notably, every founder surveyed reported making at least one deliberate pivot or product reset to reach product market fit.

Several founders emphasize adaptability, particularly in response to emerging technologies such as AI, while maintaining a differentiated positioning. Scaling increasingly depends on building flexible frameworks that can be applied across multiple contexts, rather than expanding a single product in isolation.

Building a solid financial foundation remains a critical challenge for startups. Around one third of founders identify underestimated cash runway and inaccurate forecasting as the most common financial blind spots limiting growth. While many companies plan international expansion, with one in several founders aiming to enter new markets within the next 12 months, only a small minority intend to strengthen their financial setup in parallel. This reveals a persistent gap between growth ambitions and operational readiness.

Cross-border complexity further compounds the issue, as 25% of internationally active founders report that payment infrastructure and banking limitations have slowed their expansion. Founder perspectives also reflect a shift toward financial discipline. Many acknowledge that finance cannot remain founder-led indefinitely, and that careful cash monitoring and long-term runway planning are essential to sustain growth and reduce dependency on external funding.

Scaling operations and teams remains a major challenge for startups. Hiring the right early talent is the top operational issue, cited by half of founders, while one third struggle to introduce structure without slowing execution. Delegation is another constraint, with 20% finding it difficult to transition responsibilities as the company grows.

The most critical early hire is typically a senior engineer or technical lead, identified by 25% of founders, followed by roles in sales, operations, product, marketing, and finance. However, hiring preferences are evolving. Many founders now value adaptable generalists who can navigate rapid technological shifts, particularly in AI-driven environments, and identify new efficiencies.

Becoming investor-ready is a complex step for startups approaching Series A. Around 38% of founders identify finding the right investors as their biggest challenge, while 20% struggle to craft a compelling narrative. Although many describe their experience with venture capital as positive, it is often time consuming and can impact momentum.

Founder feedback reflects a wide range of experiences, from misaligned expectations to meaningful opportunities created through fundraising. Increasingly, investors demand more ambitious growth trajectories, shifting expectations from traditional scaling models toward significantly higher returns.

In response, founders emphasize the importance of adaptability, disciplined execution, and early focus on profitability. Rather than pursuing unrealistic growth paths, many prioritize building on core strengths and refining their positioning. At the same time, rapid feedback cycles encourage experimentation, making it easier to test strategies, learn quickly, and adjust without long term consequences.

But let’s take a closer look at the main news of the last seven days. Coinbase secured a conditional US trust charter, Revolut opened a new office in Paris and will invest $1B in Western Europe, Nubank esplores MENA expansion in Abu Dhabi, Capital One completed the acquisition of Brex. But also, Mercury acquires Central, Polymarket introduced their own native stablecoin, Revolut introduced the personal assistant “Air” and Gusto acquired Mosey. In the VC ecosystem, Zero Shot Fund target $100M for an AI fund, Bondstone closed a $50M fund and Eclipse closed a $1.3B fund for Physical AI application. But also Triple Bubble, JEITO, 154 Partners, Collide Capital and Herbert. And finally, some very interesting funding rounds from fintech startups like Variance, Lucky App, KreditBee, MillTech, Linx Security, Glaas, Pipe and many others.

Let’s take a closer look:

Rounds

• Mercury targets $5B valuation in negotiations for new round
• OwlTing Group secures $10M investment with access to $50M to scale global payments infrastructure
• AccuQuant raises $20M to build AI driven trading infrastructure
• GoSats - The simplest onramp to Digital Assets in India raises $5M Series A to scale crypto rewards and AI personalisation
• INXY Payments raises $7M to scale stablecoin powered global payments infrastructure
• Variance raises $21.5M Series A to deploy AI agents in compliance and fraud detection
• Egypt’s Lucky App raises $23M Series B to expand credit and neo banking ambitions
• KreditBee reaches $1.5B Valuation after $280M funding round ahead of IPO
• MillTech secures $60M investment to drive US expansion in FX risk management
• Pharos Network raises $44M Series A to advance onchain RWA infrastructure
• Linx Security raises $50M Series B to tackle real time identity threats
• Aplazo expands BBVA Spark credit line to $50M to accelerate BNPL growth in Mexico
• Glaas secures $5M to scale embedded credit infrastructure for SMEs
• proprty.ai raises €2.8M to expand AI driven property intelligence across Europe
• Arca Digital raises €1M to modernize pension access for SMEs in Spain
• Pipe raises $16M to scale embedded financing for small businesses

VC funds

• OpenAI alumni launch Zero Shot Fund targeting $100M for AI startups
• Triple Bubble secures $10M first close toward $50M fintech fund
• Cardano and Draper Dragon launch $80M Orion Fund to scale institutional DeFi
• Bondstone launches €50M DeepTech fund to back Southern Europe innovation
• JEITO Capital Closes €1B fund II to scale European biopharma investments
• Eclipse raises $1.3B to scale ‘Physical AI’ across industry
• 154 Partners closes $400M Fund I to target services across housing, business, and live events
• Collide Capital closes $95M Fund II to scale early stage fintech and future of work investments

News on the market

• Bolt cuts one third of workforce as financial pressures mount
• Coinbase secures conditional US trust charter to expand institutional crypto services
• Mercury acquires Central to expand into payroll and HR infrastructure
• Vietnam and China launch cross border QR payments linking National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS) and Alipay
• Adyen and adidas scale global checkout donations, surpassing $1M in North America
• UK courts Anthropic to expand London presence amid global AI competition
• OpenAI acquires TBPN to strengthen AI communication and media strategy
• Nubank explores Middle East expansion following high level Abu Dhabi meeting
• Stoque acquires Rectask to scale credit automation and target $26M revenue
• Lightyear Capital acquires PayByPhone to accelerate global payments growth
• Revolut establishes new Paris HQ to accelerate €1B Western Europe expansion
• Capital One completes Brex acquisition to expand AI driven business finance
• Polymarket introduces native stablecoin and rebuilds trading infrastructure
• Mimir acquires PayEx platform to launch Everspring solutions in the Nordics
• Triple-A integrates with Circle Payments Network to enable stablecoin cross border settlement
• Revolut launches AI financial assistant “AIR” for 13M UK users
• Revolut expands european sports strategy with Hammarby Fotboll sponsorship deal

And here some useful resources for everyone involved in the ecosystem:

Events you don’t want to miss

• FIBE | Berlin - 15th-16th April 2026 (Link here)
• Stablecon EMEA | Amsterdam - 19th-20th May (Link here)

You have a cool event you want to mention or to sponsor? Feel free to send me a DM.

Founders to watch in fintech

I also wanted to start shining a light on the most interesting fintech founders out there, so I thought to start sharing how I look for ideas to invest on. Every week, I will start sharing the most interesting founders in fintech, divided per area.

This week we take a look at the most interesting fintech startups in EU, that could potentially be raising a new round.

I usually use Spectre to scout for new ideas, the team is great and they also give me a free account once they learned I was a fan of the product. So if you wanna take a look at it, you can find it here.

New funds

I recently spoke with the team at Parallax Ventures, a fintech-focused venture fund redefining how capital meets innovation in Latin America. Unlike the typical “spray and pray” approach, Parallax runs a concentrated, hands-on strategy, backing up to 20 high-conviction startups.

They had a strong track record from Fund I (vintage 2018), posting +50% IRR and 0.7x DPI, and are now raising their second fund, aiming to double down on the next generation of fintech disruptors. Take a look here if you want to know more or reach out directly to the GP at gennari@parallax.vc for details.

Take also a look at the last edition of the newsletter, Weekly update #126.