#572
Onward to 2025!

Sizzling Investments in the Frying Pan of Fintech (aka Highlights From the Year)

• Antler closed its $77m second Australian fund, surpassing its target by $17m, to back 100+ pre-seed startups and launch in Brisbane.

• Bunch closed its $15.5m Series A funding round and launched its second market, expanding beyond Germany to serve private markets investors in the UK.

• CapIntel was chosen as RBC Wealth Management’s proposal generation provider, with plans to launch with 2,200 advisors and their teams in early 2025.

• Constrafor raised a $14m Series A round and a $250m credit facility to continue to scale their AI-powered platform for contractors and subcontractors.

• Contabilizei secured a $125m investment from Warburg Pincus, solidifying its position as the largest accounting firm in Brazil, serving 50k+ clients and generating $60m+ in annual revenue.

• Mattilda expanded beyond Mexico into Colombia and Ecuador, securing a $14m credit line from Addem Capital, bringing its total debt funding to $24m for its Latin American expansion.

• Minu raised a $30m Series B led by QED, now serving 2,000 employers and 1m users while offering over 50 wellness solutions, including earned wage access and telehealth services.

• MoneyLion (NYSE:ML) announced an agreement to be acquired by Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN), an $18b global leader in digital identity protection and cybersecurity.

• Octane raised a $50m Series E round to fuel its expansion into new markets and supercharge its growth in existing markets.

• Piana closed their Series A raise of €10m, expanding throughout France to reach more than €50m in TPV from fuel payments across 500+ fleets.

• Sigma360 was named a FinCrime50 leader by Chartis Research for advancing KYC and financial crime compliance solutions.

• Simetrik raised a $55m Series B led by Goldman Sachs, as the company expands its financial automation technology globally and serves clients in 40+ countries.

• Tivita marked FTC's first lead investment in Brazil, raising a $5m Seed round for its vertical SaaS solution designed to automate financial management for clinics.

• Vestwell announced a partnership with TIAA to expand access to guaranteed retirement income solutions for smaller employers, following TIAA Ventures' Series D investment.

• WheeKeep raised a $8m Series A led by FinTech Collective to expand its mobile self-storage solutions in Saudi Arabia.

• Ziina raised a $22m Series A to scale its payment platform serving 50,000 UAE users, targeting the country's 560,000 SMEs with its recently acquired central bank license.

The Ultimate Financial Sidekick - April 2024
Generative AI is quietly transforming investment banking, reducing junior analysts' workloads and potentially saving hours per day. JP Morgan's GenAI service and Morgan Stanley’s real-time client insights tool showcase how AI enhances efficiency, slashing tasks from ten hours to ten seconds. Despite hesitations over costs and IP constraints, AI is poised to redefine junior roles, turning “Excel enthusiasts” into “AI aficionados” and heralding a new era of productivity for financial services.

Backing Up Millionaires - May 2024
A $125b Australian pension fund faced every company’s cloud nightmare when Google accidentally deleted its private Cloud account, leaving 500k users locked out for a week. While service was restored via a backup, the incident amplifies fears about migrating sensitive financial data to the cloud. Meanwhile, Fidelity reported a record number of 401(k) accounts surpassing $1m, driven by stock market gains – a silver lining for America's underfunded retirement pool, provided no one hits 'delete' again.

Chatbot Alpha (or Horror) - May 2024
AI in customer service is a tale of two extremes. Klarna's AI assistant, powered by OpenAI, handles 2.3m queries monthly, cutting resolution times from 11 to 2 minutes and boosting satisfaction, driving $40m in revenue. In contrast, the UK's HMRC struggles with an AI tool that resolves only half of sampled queries, leaving taxpayers on hold for a collective 798 years. Success hinges on thoughtful implementation – highlighting AI’s potential for either efficiency or exasperation.

A Tale of Two Millennials - April 2024
The housing crisis isn’t just generational – it’s dividing millennials. The wealthiest 10% of U.K. and U.S. millennials hold significantly more property wealth than boomers did at their age, thanks to parental assistance. Redfin reports 36% of young Americans received family aid for their first home, with wealthy Brits getting £170k on average. Meanwhile, Canada plans to raise capital gains taxes to fund homeownership programs, but will it ease reliance on the "bank of Mom and Dad"?

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - June 2024
Asia’s booming family office scene isn’t immune to fraud, as exposed at a Singapore conference where a supposed executive turned out to be a fraudster. Scammers are infiltrating the unregulated industry, prompting networking groups to double as detective hubs. Yet, the region’s allure remains strong – UBS reports over a third of family offices plan to increase allocations to Asia-Pacific, with 39% relying more on active management to diversify portfolios.