Weekly update #59

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.

This week the newsletter is sponsored by Revolut. You will probably notice some news today about them, mostly on the Italian market. So stay tuned!

No episode of Builders this week, as I was busy at the Blockchain week in Luxembourg at the LOFT. You can recover the latest episode of Builders with Adrian Smith, founder of BlinkPay, with the complete video interview here on YouTube, or you can listen to the podcast here on Spotify or here on Apple Podcast.

The podcast will be back next week with the last episode of the season for this year, then we will be back in January with a new season and many new guests! And as always, if you are a VC manager or a fintech founder and would like to join as the next guest feel free to contact me here on Linkedin!

Coming back to us, this weekI’ve been reading a very interesting article about the impact of the startup ecosystem on the total workforce in Italy, published by Assolombardo, an SMEs association in the country. The report shows how the rise in numbers of startups impacted on the number of people being employed in Italy between 2012 and 2023. Here my main takeaways:

Let’s start from the basics, meaning the number of startups in the period of time (2012-2023). Starting with a sample of 30,230 innovative startups or former startups, 30,172 companies were identified in the Orbis – Bureau van Dijk - A Moody's Analytics Company database. Among these, 23,537 are still active (including 30 undergoing insolvency or bankruptcy proceedings) and are divided into 12,504 startups and 11,033 former startups. Additionally, 1,888 are in the process of liquidation or bankruptcy, 395 have ceased operations due to acquisition or merger, and 4,352 have ceased operations entirely.

Based on 2022 financial data, Italian innovative startups created a total of 58,215 jobs, with 12,384 attributed to "current" startups and 45,831 to former startups. When updated to 2023, using the most recent financial data available, the number of employees increases to 63,519, with 14,500 jobs created by current startups and 49,019 by former startups.

The 58,215 jobs recorded in 2022 represent nearly all positions created between 2012 and 2022, accounting for 7.3% of the overall increase in employment in Italy (+795,000) during the same period. This highlights the critical role of innovative startups as a driver of job creation, contributing significantly to the overall growth of the Italian labor market.

Special attention should be given to startups that exited the market through acquisition by another company. In the 395 cases identified in the analysis, the cessation of activity does not necessarily represent a negative outcome. On one hand, an acquisition can signal a positive development for the broader innovation ecosystem, as a more established corporation seeks access to new technology or processes. On the other hand, an acquisition may be seen as a key objective for the startup’s founders, particularly when it generates significant financial returns.

Looking at the timeline of acquisitions, there is a clear upward trend, with a peak in 2023 when 110 M&A transactions were recorded. However, these numbers remain relatively low compared to the total number of startups or former startups, never exceeding 1% of the overall total.

Italian innovative startups and former startups generated a total revenue of €11.7 billion in 2022, which increases to €12.8 billion when updated with the most recent financial data for 2023. Similarly, the added value produced amounted to €2.4 billion in 2022, rising to €3 billion in 2023.

The economic contribution of innovative startups and former startups in 2022 is reflected in €11.7 billion in production value and €2.4 billion in added value.

Examining the economic growth over the years, there has been a continuous and significant increase in both revenue and added value. In 2012, the average revenue of the initial startups was €104,000, while by 2022, this figure (including startups and former startups) had grown to €625,000. Similarly, the average added value rose from €62,000 in 2012 to €313,000 in 2022, with only a slight decline observed between 2012 and 2013.

Small numbers. But still, small numbers can bring great value over time.

Anyway we saw some very interesting news in the market this week. Crypto.com made a partnership with Deutsche Bank to expand banking operations, while N26 strikes a partnership with BlackRock to launch ready-made funds for beginners investors. Zalando is acquiring ABOUT YOU for $1.2 billion cash, Paytm sells a stake in PayPay Corporation to SoftBank Group Corp., and eToro plans to go public with the help of Goldman Sachs. In the VC market, Atlas Venture secured a $450 million fund XIV, while Heartcore Capital closed a $180 fifth fund. But also new funds from Fly Ventures , Protego Ventures , Dimension and many others. In the Italian market, we saw a pretty good exit when Wellhub acquired the healthtech startup Fitprime - Wellbeing Made Easy . And finally, some very interesting rounds from fintech startups like Relai 🇨🇭, Mynt, KAST, Splitero, Themis, Astra Tech, Ayan, NAO, Upvest and many others.

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

Closed deals

• CloudWalk, Inc. raises $444 million to fund merchant payment advances in Brasil
• Berlin fintech NAO raises $3.4 million in a seed funding round
• Splitero secures $350 million to enhance home equity solutions
• Relai 🇨🇭secures a $12 million series A to support Bitcoin expansion in Europe
• Islamic fintech Ayan secured a £2.8 million seed round
• Mynt raises $23 million at a $210 million valuation to build a smarter expenses card for SMEs
• KAST secures a $10 million seed round led by HongShan Capital Group (HSG) and Peak XV Partners
• AML platform Themis raises $7.25 million in a scale-up funding round
• Berlin based fintech Upvest raises a $100 million series C round
• Nigerian fintech Billboxx secures $1.6 million in a pre-seed round
• NYC fintech FINNY (YC S24) secures a $3.4 million seed round to enhance investment advisory with AI
• Fora Financial secures a $200 million credit facility to enhance SMEs funding in Europe
• Abu Dhabi based fintech Astra Tech secures a $500 million credit line from Citi

Insights on the VC industry

• Heartcore Capital closes a $180 million fifth fund to invest on consumer tech
• Atlas Venture announces a $450 million fund XIV
• GSB | B Corp™ launches GSB FutureOf Fund I, a $50 million Vc fund to invest in early stage startups
• OpenAI startup fund raises $44 million in its largest SPV up to date
• Berlin based Fly Ventures closes a $80 million third fund
• Dimension closes a second fund at a stunning $500 million total
• Curql collective surpasses $200 million in commitments for its second fund
• OKX Ventures invests $5 million in TON Ventures
• Israeli VC Protego Ventures closes a $70 million first fund
• Abu Dhabi based VC Iliad Partners launches a new $50 million MENA fund
• UK based VC KHP Ventures closes a $25 million fund to invest in mental tech
• Humba Ventures raises a $40 million fund to invest in deep tech and defense tech startups

News on the market

• Indian fintech Paytm sells stake in PayPay Corporation to SoftBank Group Corp. for $279.2 million
• Indian fintech MobiKwik is planning to go public at a $250 million valuation, 73% less than it's last valuation in private markets
• Indonesian proptech Lamudi.co.id | Teman Tepercaya Cari Properti acquires the mortgage fintech platform Ideal
• Mexican fintech Klar acquires Tribal's assets in the country
• Crypto.com strikes a partnership with Deutsche Bank to expands global banking operations
• UAE platform Magnati launches tap to pay on iPhone in the country
• Gen announces the acquisition of MoneyLion for $1 billion in cash
• Zalando is set to acquire ABOUT YOU for $1.2 billion in an all cash deal
• Danish challenger bank Lunar launches a stand alone BaaS service
• SpaceX it's now the most valuable private company in the world at $350 billion valuation, after internal staff shares purchase
• eToro picks Goldman Sachs for its upcoming 2025 IPO
• Norwegian fintech Vipps launches an Apple Pay alternative for iPhone users in the country
• University of Warwick - Warwick Business School launches a £4.2 million fintech innovation lab
• The long-trailed merger of embedded banking platform Railsbank and payments firm Equals Money Group is set to go ahead through a £283 million takeover deal.
• N26 partners with BlackRock to launch Ready-Made funds for beginners investors

A special look in the Italian market

• Wellhub acquired the italian platform Fitprime!

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

Events you don’t want to miss

• Coming again in January!

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

Startups raising funds

• Loyyal - Loyalty platform from the MENA region, with entities in the US and South East Asia, provides a B2B2C platform to handle multiple loyalty programs and earn rewards all over the world. Raising a $6M Series A
• Freedhome - Proptech and fintech platform, enabling people to be able to gain profit from real estate by renting them to intermediaries. Raising a $1M seed round

• 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.
• Tutornow - Edtech that provides an online tutoring platform for students with learning disorders. Raising $500k to $1M.
• 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.

• Shoppy Code:Gift card platform that offers a points based loyalty program. They share part of the profits coming from marketing budgets with their customers. Raising $500k.

Take also a look at the last edition of the newsletter, Weekly update #58