FinTech Deals Are Shrinking, But Investors Are Betting Bigger

What we’ll cover today:

💸 FinTech Deals Are Shrinking, But Investors Are Betting Bigger

🏡 Former Brex COO says GPT is transforming the mortgage industry.

🌍 Flourish Ventures on Repeat Founders and AI Caution

🔗 The Event Roundup

FinTech Deals Are Shrinking, But Investors Are Betting Bigger.

Q2 2024 has shaken up the FinTech world in a big way:

• Deals are down 66%: Only 916 deals this quarter, compared to 2,684 in Q2 2023.

• Funding has dropped 63%: Investment fell to $18.3 billion, down from $49.4 billion last year.

• Bigger bets on fewer players: Average deal size increased to $20 million, signalling investors are focusing on more established companies.

A standout example:

• Wiz’s massive $1 billion funding: The cloud security company raised $1 billion in a Series E round, boosting its valuation to $12 billion.

The key takeaway? Investors are being more selective but are going all-in on the biggest and most promising companies. 

Here’s the whole article

1. Former Brex COO says GPT is transforming the mortgage industry.

Lending startup ‘Figure’ is rolling out an AI tool powered by GPT-4 to improve home lending by catching document errors. 

CEO Michael Tannenbaum, former Brex COO, said, “I thought that this was something that could really transform the way fintech businesses work.” Figure has raised $1.5 billion.

Here’s the whole article

2. Flourish Ventures on Repeat Founders and AI Caution

Flourish Ventures discussed trends like backing repeat founders in emerging markets and their cautious approach to AI investments. 

They avoid standalone AI fintech opportunities, focusing on its strategic integration. M&A activity in fintech is expected to rise, with IPOs anticipated soon.

Here’s the whole podcast

1. Daba Finance Wins US$50,000 Grand Prize at Ecobank Fintech Challenge 2024

After fierce competition, Daba Finance takes home US$50,000 with its solution to make investing accessible to everyone by offering a one-stop investment platform for trading stocks, bonds, and other financial products.

2. BNPL Fraud On the Rise as Scammers Prey On Borrowers in Southeast Asia

A new report by Rest of World sheds light on how scammers are targeting BNPL platforms in Vietnam by exploiting a loophole that allows users to turn their credit into cash through so-called cash-outs.

3. Mercurity Fintech Holding Inc.'s market cap rose US$28m last week; investors got 39% profit.

While individual investors were the group that reaped the most benefits after last week’s 37% price gain, insiders also received a 27% cut.