Published:
Jul 26, 2025
Author:
Sarah Parsons Wolter
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In ancient times, alchemists sought the Philosopher’s Stone – a mythical catalyst that could transmute base metals into gold. Today, the dream is alive again. A San Francisco-based fusion startup, Marathon Fusion, claims to have cracked modern alchemy by harnessing fusion neutrons to transmute mercury into gold. The process works – on paper, at least – and the early scientific reception has ranged from cautiously intrigued to outright enthralled. While challenges remain (some isotopes may be mildly radioactive for 18 years), the prospect of mining precious metals from reactors instead of riverbeds is no longer science fiction.
Meanwhile, in central China, another lab-driven metamorphosis is reshaping a billion-dollar industry. At lightning speed and industrial scale, factories in Henan are now growing gem-quality diamonds – 100,000 carats a month – in machines that mimic the Earth’s interior. Lab-grown stones, which now command 17% of the U.S. retail market and sell for just 7% of the price of their mined counterparts, have driven down prices, captured market share, and left legacy titans like De Beers reeling.
Modern alchemy has arrived with a twist: instead of seeking immortality and infinite wealth, we've settled for radioactive gold, affordable engagement rings, and slightly better margins.
Portfolio News
Wealth fund Mubadala backs Dubai-based dining payments platform Qlub - The $30m round was co-led by investment firm Shorooq and Berlin-based Cherry Ventures. The company has now raised $72m to date and operates across the Middle East and globally in markets such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Brazil. Qlub will use the fresh capital to enter new markets, strengthen its presence in existing ones and enhance its platform with advanced analytics. Read more
Flutterwave partners with Skyee to power cross-border payments between Africa and Asia - The partnership is designed to simplify global trade for African businesses by offering faster, more transparent, and reliable payment solutions across Asian markets, further reinforcing Flutterwave’s commitment to expanding access to global commerce and empowering the continent’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Read more
The Alchemists Are Back
How the diamond industry lost its sparkle - The explosion of lab-grown diamonds on the international jewellery market has coincided with a slump in demand, sending the price of smaller natural diamonds to their lowest levels in a decade. Read more
Fusion energy start-up claims to have cracked alchemy - A fusion energy start-up claims to have solved the millennia-old challenge of how to turn other metals into gold. In an academic paper published last week, start-up Marathon Fusion proposes that neutrons released in fusion reactions could be used to produce gold through a process known as nuclear transmutation. Read more
Industry News
Banks hate ‘buy now, pay later’—and may penalize its users - U.S. banks are cautious about consumers heavily using BNPL products. They suggest that this could be viewed as risky behavior, potentially affecting creditworthiness assessments for traditional financial products like mortgages or credit cards. FICO, on the other hand, believes BNPL could help credit scores. Read more
Meta’s grand WhatsApp fintech experiment in India has fizzled - Despite having 500m users in India, WhatsApp has been unable to crack the country’s $3t fintech market. The market is now dominated by Walmart-owned PhonePe, and Google. Read more
PE-backed Datasite buys Blueflame AI to bolster dealmaking tech - Blueflame has developed agentic AI that automates tasks like drafting investment memos and summarizing complex documents by connecting fragmented datasets. The deal is part of a broader $500m acquisition strategy backed by CapVest Partners to dominate the dealmaking tech stack. Read more
JPMorgan adds private firms to research starting with OpenAI - The coverage will begin with sectors where private companies play a bigger role in shaping industry dynamics and innovations, such as AI and software. Unlike traditional equity research on public firms, the new offering won’t include ratings, price targets or estimates on private companies, rather the goal is to provide investor clients with structured information and tracking, he said. Read more
Brazil rallies to defend much-loved payment system from Donald Trump’s attack - Launching an investigation into Brazil’s “unfair trade practices” on July 15, Washington said it would probe whether the South American giant was discriminating against US companies in favour of its government-developed electronic payment system. Brazil’s government responded with outrage, saying it would not accept political interference in its justice system. Read more
Asset managers launch active ETFs at record pace - Asset managers are launching active exchange traded funds at a record rate this year, hoping to cash in on growing investor interest in versions of these low-cost vehicles that take more risk than standard index tracker products. Read more
JPMorgan explores lending against clients’ crypto holdings - JPMorgan could start lending directly against crypto assets such as bitcoin and ethereum next year, according to people familiar with the matter. The move would underscore the extent to which big banks, and the regulated financial industry more broadly, are opening up to closer interaction with cryptocurrencies. Read more
Polymarket set for US return after deal to buy tiny exchange - The predictions marketplace has bought a little-known derivatives exchange and clearinghouse called QCX, that will help Polymarket to legally re-enter the US. The move will help formally open the betting site to US users after its surging popularity in 2024 when users placed millions of dollars of wagers on President Donald Trump returning to office. Read more
Meme stock fever is spreading like it’s 2021 - Stocks are at all-time highs and retail traders are flooding into low-priced shares, with companies like Opendoor Technologies Inc. and Kohl’s Corp. being the current "meme stock" favorites. Some experts are worried about irrational exuberance creating a bubble that's destined to pop as "dumb money" floods back into risky companies with little to no profitability. Read more
You can now Venmo the government to help pay off national debt - The United States national debt surpassed $34t in 2024, raising ongoing questions about deficit spending and fiscal policy. Amid these concerns, the U.S. Treasury has expanded citizens' options for making voluntary payments to reduce the public debt—including digital payment methods such as Venmo. Read more
Is AI killing Google Search? It might be doing the opposite - Google’s “AI Overview” tool allowing users to see answers generated by its Gemini AI model hovering above their traditional search results drove outsized revenue growth - underlining Alphabet’s continued ability to monetize its search traffic and compete directly with chatbots. Read more
BNY and Goldman Sachs launch tokenized money market funds solution - BNY Mellon and Goldman Sachs announced a collaborative initiative by which BNY will employ blockchain technology developed by Goldman Sachs to maintain a record of customers’ ownership of select Money Market Funds (MMFs), in a significant step towards enhancing the utility and transferability of existing MMF shares. Read more
The GENIUS Act passed — here’s what It means for USDC and stablecoin adoption - It’s official: The GENIUS Act was signed into law on July 18, 2025. This marks a significant milestone for stablecoins like USDC. After years of regulatory uncertainty, stablecoins are now operating under a formal legal framework — and that’s a big deal for both retail users and institutional players. Read more
The ‘hallucinations’ that haunt AI: why chatbots struggle to tell the truth - Google, Amazon, Cohere and Mistral are among those trying to bring down the rate of these fabricated answers by rolling out technical fixes, improving the quality of the data in AI models, and building verification and fact-checking systems across their generative AI products. Read more
Galaxy executes one of the largest notional bitcoin transactions ever - Galaxy completed the sale of more than 80,000 bitcoin, valued at over $9b based on current market prices, for a Satoshi-era investor. This represents one of the earliest and most significant exits from the digital asset market. The transaction was part of the investor's broader estate planning strategy. Read more
Nubank revives Nucoin to fuse loyalty with blockchain - Nubank has reintroduced its Nucoin loyalty initiative, signaling a renewed focus on blockchain-enabled rewards and digital asset integration. This relaunch follows a temporary pause in 2022 prompted by regulatory uncertainties, with the latest iteration now designed to merge the functionality of traditional financial systems with emerging crypto technologies. Read more
Select Financings
AIUC - San Francisco based insurtech that aims to help enterprises adopt AI safely by offering standards, audits and insurance for AI agents raised $15m in Seed funding led by NFDG. Read more
Alix - San Francisco based AI powered estate settlement platform raised $20m in Series A funding led by Acrew Capital. Read more
April - New York based AI powered tax infrastructure raised $38m in Series B funding led by QED. Read more
Credibur - Berlin based operating system for structured credit raised $2.2m in pre Seed funding led by Redstone. Read more
Delve - San Francisco based provider of AI agents for compliance raised $32m in Series A funding led by Insight Partners. Read more
Eton Solutions - North Carolina based wealth management company raised $58m in Series C funding led by Navis Capital Partners. Read more
Eventual - New York based insurtech that solves climate and insurance issues for American real estate owners raised $7.5m in Seed funding led by AlleyCorp and Upfront Ventures. Read more
Paddle - London based SaaS billing solutions provider raised $25m in growth funding led by CIBC Innovation Banking. Read more
Poseidon - San Francisco based decentralized data layer built for AI training workflows raised $15m in Seed funding led by A16z crypto. Read more
Quavo - Wilmington based fraud and dispute management platform for financial institutions raised $300m in growth funding from Spectrum Equity. Read more
Vanta - San Francisco based AI powered trust management platform raised $150m in Series D funding led by Wellington Management. Read more
Xelix - New York based developer of AI software for accounts payable raised $160m in Series B funding led by Insight Partners. Read more
Yieldstreet - New York based private markets investment platform raised $77m in new funding led by Tarsadia Investments. Read more
FinTech Collective Newsletter
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