#653
The Rematch
Published:
Aug 01, 2026
Author:
Sarah Parsons Wolter
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In 1999, Elon Musk founded X.com with the ambition of building the one place people did all their banking. It merged with a rival called Confinity, the combined company took the name PayPal, and Musk was pushed out as CEO within the year, watching from the sidelines as the idea he started became one of the defining fintech companies of the internet era.
He spent the next two decades building rockets and cars instead, but by his own account he never let the idea go. Buying Twitter in 2022 gave him a platform large enough to try again, and renaming it X gave the ambition its old name back: an "everything app," payments included, built in the mold of WeChat.
X Money went live nationwide this week with a Visa debit card and fee-free transfers, while paying subscribers can unlock an APY of up to 6%.
Is there about to be a deliciously poetic ending to this story? In 1999, PayPal acquired Elon's company, X.com. Twenty-seven years later, could X.com outbid Stripe and Advent to purchase PayPal and return the favor? If so, the PayPal board may end up channeling game warden Robert Muldoon's final line in Jurassic Park (1993) and whispering: "Clever girl."
Portfolio News
UAE SMEs benefit from digital finance push as Pemo secures key CBUAE approval - Dubai-based fintech company Pemo has received in-principle approval from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) for a Stored Value Facilities (SVF) licence, a regulatory milestone that will allow the company to hold and manage customer funds digitally once the licensing process is complete. The approval paves the way for Pemo to introduce digital wallets and new fund-holding capabilities for its more than 6,000 UAE business customers. Read more
INSTANDA and Diesta partner to automate insurance payments and policy administration - INSTANDA has partnered with Diesta to integrate insurance-native payments infrastructure into its no-code policy administration platform. This collaboration enables insurers, MGAs, and brokers to automate premium collection and reconciliation, significantly reducing manual finance operations and accelerating the speed-to-market for new insurance products globally. Read more
Flutterwave Named to CNBC and Statista’s World’s Top Fintech Companies List | The Flutterwave Blog - The list recognizes the world’s most impactful fintech companies across a range of categories, celebrating organizations that are driving innovation, delivering customer value, and shaping the future of financial services. The recognition highlights Flutterwave’s continued commitment to innovation, operational excellence, and building technology that powers seamless payments and cross-border commerce across Africa and beyond. Read more
The Rematch
Elon Musk launches X Money App in US - X has launched X Money nationwide for U.S. Premium subscribers, offering a Visa debit card, fee-free transfers, up to 6% APY, and cash back. It's the latest step in Musk's long-standing goal, dating to his original 1999 X.com venture, of turning X into an all-in-one "everything app." Read more
Industry News
Ted Benna, the father of the 401(k) retirement plan, has a new savings plan - Many workers can’t afford to put money away in a 401(k). The man who popularized the retirement accounts says he has a better idea. Called Radish, it’s an employer-funded incentive program that lets companies deposit money into an account for workers who hit performance goals, such as safety, tenure or on-time delivery. Read more
HSBC to hire 100 AI specialists as bank sets up Singapore center - HSBC is set to hire more than 100 artificial intelligence specialists in Singapore with plans to launch a global AI center in the city-state later this year as the British lender steps up investments in the technology that’s reshaping Wall Street workforces. Read more
Single-stock futures debut lets investors trade big US stocks without shares - CME Group Inc. will launch single-stock futures Monday, allowing investors to hedge or speculate on more than 50 of the largest US companies. The contracts, offering leverage without the complexity of options, will be cash-settled on the closing price of the stocks they’re tied to. Read more
Nvidia’s chips may be novel, but its ‘circular financing’ isn’t - The chipmaker is writing cheques to enable its customers to buy more of its products than they could otherwise afford. Nvidia has funded OpenAI and data centre operator CoreWeave by buying shares rather than making loans, however. Its unlisted equity investments hit $42b at the end of April, from $3b a year earlier, after announcing a $30b investment in OpenAI and $10b in Anthropic. Read more
Single-stock futures debut lets investors trade big US stocks without shares - The contracts will be cash-settled on the closing price of the stocks they’re tied to, and will offer leverage without the complexity of options. The single-stock futures will be available to trade five days a week, 23 hours a day, and will come in two sizes, with the larger ones based on 100 shares of stock and the micro futures based on 10 shares. Read more
Hong Kong imitates US IPO market but China is its real competition - Hong Kong is not the first stock exchange to eye rule changes to make it look more like the US. But its latest move, allowing all companies to file confidentially for an initial public offering — looks particularly fruitless. While the Asian hub measures itself against New York, it’s Shanghai and Shenzhen that are its real competition. Read more
BNY to adopt blockchain technology for records in new era for Wall Street - BNY, which has more than $59t in assets under custody and administration, was set to unveil on Wednesday a digital version of its transfer agency business, which processes trades and keeps ownership records. While the financial services giant will maintain its physical transfer agent, the creation of a digital arm underscores a broader push on Wall Street to embrace new technology in which shares are issued in tokens and traded on a blockchain instead of traditional means. Read more
Bags or baubles? How AI wealth divides luxury stocks - AI is creating enormous wealth — but who gets more, and who gets less? It’s an important question not just for governments, but for luxury goods companies too, and investors trying to work out which sellers of high-priced trinkets will perform best. Some are geared to the super-wealthy while others — because of their size or the types of goods they sell — need a lot of affluent people to be buying their products. Read more
Euronext mulls setting up a private market to rival the UK’s - Euronext has held discussions with clients about a potential European Union-focused venue, which could allow companies to raise fresh funds and shareholders to sell stakes. That potential dual function would differentiate it from LSEG’s own private market, which only offers trading in existing shares. Read more
Bloomberg buys Canoe Intelligence in bid to enhance private markets insights - The move is part of Bloomberg’s push to improve institutional investors’ insight into private markets, according to a statement. Canoe processes over 1.5m documents a month across more than 44,000 funds. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Read more
CME plans futures tied to sports to be used as new hedging tool - Exchange operator CME Group is planning to offer futures and options contracts tied to professional and college sports, and is working with FutureSports, an upstart index provider, to underpin its new tools and bring real price discovery and risk management discipline to the sports industry. Read more
NYSE parent ICE to purchase MarketAxess for about $6b - The acquisition gives ICE control of a top electronic marketplace for corporate bonds, accelerating Chief Executive Officer Jeff Sprecher’s push to build a financial-markets empire spanning exchanges, data, clearing and over-the-counter markets. Read more
Select Financings
Dwelly - London based startup that buys and automates UK letting agencies using AI raised $170m in Series B funding co-led by EQT Growth and General Catalyst. Read more
Antares Labs - Chicago based builder of custom AI systems for large real estate owners and investors raised $7.25m in Seed funding led by Fifth Wall. Read more
Beelzebub - Italy based AI-native cybersecurity platform defending against AI-driven cyberattacks raised €3m in Seed funding led by United Ventures. Read more
CAIS - New York based alternative investment platform for independent financial advisors raised $170m in Series D funding led by Vista Equity Partners. Read more
Centralize - San Francisco based enterprise sales relationship-intelligence platform raised $15m in Series A funding led by New Enterprise Associates. Read more
Coverwatch - San Francisco based AI-native commercial insurance platform raised $4.5m in pre-Seed funding led by CoFound and Restive. Read more
Digital Asset - New York based developer of the Canton blockchain network raised $10m in growth funding, with participation from Shinhan Financial Group and SC Ventures. Read more
Freehand - San Francisco based agentic AI platform for enterprise supply chain spend management raised $75m in Series B funding co-led by Battery Ventures and NewRoad Capital Partners. Read more
Healia - Columbus based healthcare benefits platform for dual-income families raised $14m in Series A funding led by 111° West Capital. Read more
Henry AI - New York based AI platform automating commercial real estate back-office workflows raised $16.5m in Series A funding led by FirstMark Capital. Read more
Neon Commerce - San Francisco based fintech startup specializing in direct-to-consumer commerce for the gaming industry raised $13m in Series A funding, with participation from KRAFTON, a16z, and Renegade Partners. Read more
Ossprey - UK based software supply chain security platform that detects malicious open source packages raised $2.65m in Pre-seed funding led by Episode 1 Ventures. Read more
Passionfroot - Berlin based B2B creator marketplace raised $15m in Series A funding led by Insight Partners. Read more
Pilot Protocol - San Francisco based communications and commerce network for AI agents raised $4.5m in Seed funding led by Version One Ventures. Read more
Twenty - Arlington based offensive cyber warfare company raised $30m in Series B extension funding led by Khosla Ventures. Read more
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