Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech (formerly The Interchange)! In this edition, I’m going to look at a fintech being sold in a fire sale, a group of startup raises, and more!
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The big story
The saga continues. In mid-May, TC’s Manish Singh reported that founders of ZestMoney had resigned from the startup. The Indian fintech, whose ability to underwrite small ticket loans to first-time internet customers, once drew the backing of many high-profile investors, including Goldman Sachs. By December, ZestMoney was shutting down following unsuccessful efforts to find a buyer. Then, last week, the company, which was once valued at $450 million, was sold to DMI in a “fire sale.”
Analysis of the week
One of the most fun parts of being a reporter is tracking companies’ growth over the years. In 2020, I wrote about Briq’s $10 million Series A and its mission to bring fintech 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 Argentinian payments infrastructure startup Pomelo’s $9 million seed raise. Last week, I covered its $40 million Series B financing and the fact that it grew revenue by 200% in 2023. I love watching companies I reported on at the early stages still in the game, and growing! This is how investors must feel.
Dollars and cents
Christine Hall was busy last week!
Digital Onboarding grabs $58M to help banks with profitable customer engagement: Communications from financial institutions is often paper-based, which often leads to between 25% and 40% of new checking accounts closed within the first year. This SaaS startup wants to fix this.
Kashable banks $25.6M to offer employment-based lending: More employers are adding financial products to their employee benefits and perks, and many startups have jumped into this sector to help. Fintech company Kashable is the latest.
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Netflix, Box, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, Vinod Khosla — just some of the 250+ heavy hitters leading 200+ sessions designed to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss a chance to learn from the top voices in tech. Grab your ticket before doors open to save up to $444.
Tandem gives ‘modern couples’ app to manage finances together and separately: Meet Tandem — a new fintech startup that addresses the first financial milestones for couples and grows with the relationship – which just raised $3.7 million.
What else we’re writing
African neobank Kuda tried to raise $20M at flat valuation in 2023, missed user milestone projection by 3M: Earlier this month, Kuda co-founder and CEO Babs Ogundeyi told users that the Nigerian online challenger bank had reached almost ₦56 trillion (~$60 billion) in transaction value since its 2019 launch. Ogundeyi also said that Kuda had achieved a notable milestone, with 7 million retail and business customers as of today. However, the figure falls short of the fintech’s projections when it sought fresh investment last year.
Other high-interest headlines
Stripe, Flexport, TikTok, and other startups were investing in startups. That has largely stopped: “Stripe’s investments through mid-2021 signaled its intent to expand internationally and grow beyond its core e-commerce business. Stripe acquired Nigeria-based Paystack in 2020 — extending its reach in Africa — after participating in the payment startup’s Series A in 2018.” That level of investing has slowed dramatically, according to CB Insights data.
Cross-border payments fintech Neo hits profitability after year of rapid growth: “The Barcelona-based fintech which provides a one-stop-shop multi-currency account for corporate treasurers recorded an annual revenue in excess of €5 million and an annual profit of €1 million,” reports Fintech Finance News.
Podcasts worth checking out
The other side of AI hype: Alex Wilhelm and I do quick dives into the raises of Pomelo, Briq and Tandem, and much more!
Back in the Unicorn Club with Cowboy Ventures’ Aileen Lee: Alex Wilhelm and I invited Cowboy Ventures’ Aileen Lee to chat through her massive new article concerning the unicorn world.
ICYMI: I had a blast interviewing pre-seed investor Everywhere Ventures’ Jenny Fielding. Click below to listen!
Follow me on X @bayareawriter for breaking fintech news, posts about coffee and more.
