Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech (formerly The Interchange)! In this edition, I’ll be taking a look at one fintech company that’s being sold on the cheap, a bunch of startups, and more!
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The big story
The saga continues. In mid-May, TC’s Manish Singh reported that ZestMoney’s founders had resigned from the startup. The Indian fintech, which boasts its ability to guarantee small loans to online customers for the first time, once attracted the backing of several prominent investors, including Goldman Sachs. By December, ZestMoney was shut down after failed efforts to find a buyer. Then, last week, the company, once worth $450 million, was sold to DMI in a “slush sale.”
Analysis of the week
One of the most fun parts of being a reporter is tracking the growth of companies over the years. In 2020 I wrote about Barq $10 million Series A Its mission is to bring financial technology to the construction industry. Last week, I covered its $8 million Series B extension at a $150 million valuation, as well as its AI-related growth plans. In 2021, I reported on Argentine payments infrastructure startup Pomelo’s $9 million seed raise. Last week, I covered their $40M Series B funding and the reality of growing revenues by 200% in 2023. I love watching the early-stage companies I’ve reported on that are still in the game, and growing! This is how investors should feel.
Dollars and cents
Kristin Hall was busy last week!
Digital Onboarding Program Receives $58 Million to Help Banks Achieve Profitable Customer Engagement Communications from financial institutions are often paper-based, often resulting in 25% to 40% of new checking accounts being closed within the first year. A SaaS startup wants to fix this.
Kashable Banks $25.6M to Offer Employment-Based Loans: More employers are adding financial products to their employee benefits and perks, and several startups have jumped into the sector to help. Fintech company Kashable is the latest.
Tandem offers an app for “modern couples” to manage finances together and separately: Meet Tandem — a new fintech startup that addresses couples’ first financial milestones and grows with the relationship — which just raised $3.7 million.
What else do we write?
Neo-African bank Kuda tried to raise $20 million at a flat valuation in 2023, but missed notable user forecasts by 3M: Earlier this month, Babs Ogundeyi, co-founder and CEO of Kuda, told users that the competing Nigerian online bank had… It has reached nearly 56 trillion yen (~US$60 billion) in transaction value since its launch in 2019. Ogunde also said that Kuda has achieved a remarkable milestone, with the number of its retail and corporate customers reaching 7 million as of today. However, this figure falls short of what the fintech expected when it sought new investment last year.
Other titles of great interest
Stripe, Flexport, TikTok and other startups have been investing in startups. That has largely stopped: “Stripe investments through mid-2021 It has indicated its intention to expand internationally and grow beyond its core e-commerce business. Stripe has acquired its headquarters in Nigeria Salary in 2020 – to expand its reach in Africa – after participating in the payments startup’s Series A in 2018. This level of investment has slowed significantly, according to CB Insights data.
Cross-border payments fintech Neo turns profitable after year of rapid growth: “The Barcelona-based fintech company, which provides a comprehensive multi-currency account for corporate treasurers, recorded annual revenues of more than €5 million and annual profits of €1 million,” Fintech Finance News reports.
Podcasts are worth checking out
The Other Side of the AI Hype: Alex Wilhelm and I take a quick dive into the heights of Pomelo, Brik, Tandem, and much more!
Back to the Unicorn Club with Eileen Lee of Cowboy Ventures: Alex Wilhelm and I invited Cowboy Ventures Eileen Lee To chat through her huge new article relating to the world of unicorns.
ICYMI: I had a lot of fun interviewing Jenny Fielding, seed investor at Everywhere Ventures. Click below to listen!
Follow me on X @bayareawriter For breaking fintech news, coffee posts, and more.