Weekly update #63

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.

While the newsletter is back, the Builders podcast will be live again next week with a guest from the VC ecosystem in Luxembourg. In the meanwhile, you can recover the last episode here.

Coming back to us, I’ve been reading a very interesting report this week about the M&A activity in the fintech industry in Q3 2024. The title of the study is “Q3 2024 report - Global fintech M&A witnesses moderate growth in Q3 2024”, by Flagship Advisory Partners , a comprehensive analysis of all deals in the quarter divided by geographic area and type of deal. Here my main takeaways:

Let’s start from the global level. The global market for fintech M&A experienced steady growth in deals count during Q3 2024, reflecting a mid-single-digit increase compared to the same period in the previous year. This growth was driven by a combination of private equity-led transactions and strategic acquisitions by major players in the industry.

Among the notable contributors, PE firms played a significant role in boosting deal activity, underscoring the continued attractiveness of the industry as an investment sector. Strategic acquisitions also gained momentum, with companies like MasterCard and Visa making significant moves.

Regionally, Asia-Pacific led the global market, accounting for the largest share of completed and announced deals over the 12 months ending in Q3 2024. North America and Europe followed as key hubs for fintech activity, while Latin America and the Middle East & Africa showed smaller but emerging deal volumes.

Throughout the monthly data from Q4 2022 through Q3 2024, the North American market maintained consistent deal flow across M&A, debt offerings, venture financing, and other transaction types. By Q3 2024, the region recorded a gradual increase in overall M&A volumes, reflecting low growth compared to the same period a year earlier. This modest rise was driven in large part by US-based private equity firms, which spurred greater deal activity. In addition, investors focused on strategic, value-driven transactions, aligning with the broader global fintech trend of steady expansion noted in the most recent quarter.

In Europe, the fintech and payments sector showed a noticeable surge in merger and acquisition activity during the final month of Q3 2024, with the UK retaining its leadership position. Although deal volumes saw a modest year-over-year increase, overall funding trended lower, indicating a shift toward smaller, strategic transactions. Visa scored one of the major transactions of the quarter, acquiring Feature Space.

In the Asia-Pacific region, the deal activity in the fintech sector experienced a mixed performance by the end of Q3 2024. While merger and acquisition activity tapered off toward the close of the quarter, overall deal volume outpaced the same period in the previous year. Certain segments of the APAC market displayed resilience amid the slowdown, signaling that while a rapid rebound is unlikely, specific opportunities for strategic deal-making persist.

Finally, in LATAM, the fintech sector experienced a modest uptick in M&A activity during mid-Q3 2024, with strategic acquisitions playing a pivotal role in market consolidation efforts. In contrast, the Middle East and Africa saw a more subdued environment for fintech mergers and acquisitions, characterized by selective and targeted investments rather than significant large-scale transactions. Both regions reflected the broader trend of cautious yet purposeful deal-making within the global fintech landscape.

Anyway we saw some very interesting news in the market this week. Coinbase acquired BUX ’s Cyprus unit in a potential move towards CFDs offering, while X is ready to launch X Money already in 2025. Japanese group SBI acquired 70% of German BaaS Solaris SE , while Revolut started targeting wealthy clients by moving into private banking. In the VC industry, Founders Fund is raising a $3 billion third growth fund, Expansion Venture Capital raises $137 million for their first space fund, and other new funds from Trucks Venture Capital, Defiant and South Park Commons. And finally, some very interesting funding rounds from fintech startups like Billboxx, Anatomy Financial, NomuPay, Fazeshift (YC S24), OnPay, JeelPay | جيل باي, nsave, Nevermined and many others.

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

Closed deals

• African fintech Billboxx secures a $1.6 million pre-seed to solve SMEs cash flow problem in the continent
• Anatomy Financial raises a $19 million series A to innovate billing solutions for the healthcare system
• NomuPay raises $37 million series B at a $200 million valuation to support payments for underserved markets in Asia
• Banking platform Tide is reported raising $50 million via share sale
• Fazeshift (YC S24), an AI agent for account receivable startup, just secured a $4 million seed round
• Atlanta based payroll provider OnPay raises a $100 million funding round to expand offering
• Saudi BNPL JeelPay | جيل باي secures a $6 million pre-series A for its tuition financing platform
• ThreatMark secures a $23 million for its financial services focused cybersecurity platform
• nsave raises a $18 million series A to propose offshore accounts for people in unstable economies
• Nevermined raises a $4 million round to expand its AI-toAI payment protocol

Insights on the VC industry

• Founders Fund is raising $3 billion for its third growth fund
• Expansion Venture Capital completes its first closing at $137 million to invest in spacetech
• Trucks Venture Capital closes a third $70 million fund, the largest one to date
• South Park Commons raises $40 million for an India specific VC fund
• Defiant secured a first $30 million tranche on the total $70 million for their debut fund

News on the market

• Coinbase acquires BUX's Cyprus unit in a potential move towards CFDs offering
• Frax Finance launches frxUSD, a stablecoin backed by BlackRock
• AstroPay launches a multicurrency wallet to reshape traveler's payments
• Japanese financial group SBI will acquire a 70% stake in German BaaS Solaris SE for $100 million
• Klarna CEO question role of Swedish financial regulators after a fine
• Elite Technology acquires Tranch, a B2B payment platform, to transform billing and payment processes for law firms
• X is going to launch its fintech product X Money already in 2025
• Backpack exchange, founded by a group of former Alameda and FTX, has acquired FTX EU, the European arm of the defunct exchange
• MicroStrategy plans to raise $2 billion to acquires even more Bitcoin
• FalconX acquires Arbelos Markets to expand global derivates footprints
• SC Ventures by Standard Chartered launches Labamu, an invoicing and billing platform for SMEs in APAC region
• UK based saving and lending bank Shawbrook is reported eyeing a potential $2 billion IPO in 2025
• ClearScore acquires Manchester based fintech Aro Finance Limited to expand in embedded finance
• TransUnion announces the acquisition of UK based credit qualification platform Monevo
• Do you remember when we were talking about layoffs at Checkout.com last week? The company officially moved to clarify some misleading reports
• Revolut targets wealthy clients and moves into private banking
• J.P. Morgan files a lawsuit over the very well known Viva.com dispute
• Adyen introduces Adyen Uplift, a payment solution that optimize transactions with AI

A special look in the Italian market

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

Events you don’t want to miss

• DXPX - Munich | 26-27.01.2025 (Link to the event)
• TechChill - Riga (Latvia) | 5-7.02.2025 (Link to the event)
• 0100 DACH - Wien (Austria) | 18-20.02.2025 (Link to the event)
• Tech Arena - Stockholm (Sweden) | 20-21.02.2025 (Link to the event)

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. Round closed!
• 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 #62