Weekly update #2

News from the market

News from the market

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.

While the trend on AI is still going on, we are also seeing some interest in the wealth management industry, with multiple startups coming out of stealth mode with good pre-seed closed. Also, I noticed recently that there is a lot of interest in the luxury watch industry, with more than one startup already proposing me similar deals.

Let’s take a look at what happened this week and who is looking for capital to raise:

• Is Klarna going public? The Swedish fintech giant has gone through a very tough period recently scaling down from a valuation of $42 billion to $6 billion. But now it seems to be back in good shape, looking to go public in the UK with a market cap of approximately $15 billion;
• Aleph Alpha raised $500 million, one of the biggest round ever in Europe, to build an AI model for corporates;
• Qomodo just closed a record pre-seed, bringing in $34.5 million. The italian fintech startup is trying to innovate the payments market.
• Another payments company, Volante Technologies , just closed a $66 million round in the USA, to boost their expansion on the market;
• N26 is leaving Brasil. After 2 years in the country, the german digital bank wasn’t able to have an impact, and they are now shutting down to focus on the European markets;
• Black Ore just emerged from stealth to merge together AI and fintech. And it just raised $60 million to do it;
• Swan is already using the $34 million from the recently closed series B to open a new office in Amsterdam;
• The danish startup Performativ - Wealth Management Software just closed a $5.5 million to expand outside the Nordics, in a recent wealth management trend;
• EU is trying to boost instant payments, pushing a new regulations that involves also stablecoins;
• Let’s take a look at what is going on in the fintech market in Africa, where Gozem - Africa's Super App has just acquired the fintech Moneex to expand into payments;
• In LATM, the Buenos Aires based Mercado Pago just closed a deal to receive $466 million from Citi for further expansion in Brasil and Mexico.

And many other news from Intuit Mint , Revolut , Monument and other fintech companies.

Startups raising funds

• Popularise - The platform that allows companies of every dimension to promotethemselves 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.
• 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.

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!

Link to my Linkedin profile: Linkedin: Michele Mattei