The 10 biggest fintech deals you missed in October
Fintech has struggled this year. Industry funding has fallen in line with market volatility caused by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, rising interest rates, the hangover from Covid-19 and lingering supply chain issues. But despite the odds, over 100 fintech firms raised capital in October 2022.
That’s an achievement, given that the flow of fintech funding has dried up in 2022 compared to 2021. The industry received a $253.4 billion boost to its finances across 2,913 deals in 2021, according to data from research firm GlobalData. However, these figures have fallen to $66.5 billion across 1,577 deals in 2022.
Despite the fact that the financing environment has become tougher for fintech companies, several industrial companies managed to collect millions in new capital grants in October.
Fintech firms secured $5.8 billion in funding in October, according to data from GlobalData. It included 77 venture financing deals, 14 private equity deals, five debt offering deals and two equity offering deals.
North America led the fintech funding count in October, with 37 deals worth a combined $1.2 billion. Europe followed with 28 deals worth $3.9 billion. Fintech firms in Asia secured 25 deals worth $393 million. Their peers in the Middle East and Africa raised $166 million in seven deals. South and Central American ventures secured just $22 million on two deals.
By taking a closer look at the top 10 fintech rounds raised in October, it’s also easy to see the scope of the industry. Neobanks and buy-now-pay-later companies may grab the headlines, but the sector is bigger than that. For example, insurance, regulatory, legal and cybersecurity technology ventures can all fall under the fintech umbrella, as they all represent parts that make financial services work. All these companies contribute to making the flow of money smoother and more digital.
Not surprisingly, several of the fintech companies that secured funding in October were in that realm. Now let’s take a look at the top 10 industry capital raisings from last month.
Cybersecurity firm NetSPI raises $410 million in new funding
Cyber security company NetSPI secured $410 million in a new funding round in October. The global investment company KKR led the increase on the back of its first investment from May 2021.
“We are pleased to double our investment in NetSPI to help build a differentiated leader in offensive cybersecurity,” said Jake Heller, partner and head of KKR’s technology growth team in the Americas. “We have been very impressed with the performance of the company and the exceptional execution of Aaron and his team over the last 18 months. We believe this is just the beginning of what we can achieve together.”
Founded in 2001, NetSPI will use its capital to continue to reinvent security for financial institutions, cloud providers and healthcare organizations.
Wise secured a £300m debt facility from Silicon Valley Bank
Wise, the international money transfer company formerly known as TransferWise, secured a £300m debt facility in October, making it the biggest funding round we’ve seen in the industry last month. Californian investor Silicon Valley Bank led the increase and saw the participation of six other banks as well, according to UK Tech News.
“The new facility led by Silicon Valley Bank UK will give us flexible and efficient access to working capital,” said Matt Briers, CFO of Wise.
“This means we can continue to bring our service to as many people as possible, and we can continue to invest in making our payments faster, cheaper and more efficient for our millions of customers around the world.”
Automation Anywhere has $200 million
Automation Anywhere is not really a simple fintech company. As the name suggests, it helps companies automate business processes. However, the fact that it serves financial services companies and insurance companies has earned it a spot on this list.
The fact that it raised a $200 million funding round in October also helps land it a spot on the list. It secured the financing from Silicon Valley Bank, SVB Capital and Hercules Capital. Automation Anywhere will use the money as operational and strategic capital in the coming years.
“We continue to be optimistic about the near-term opportunities for Automation Anywhere as more companies scale automation and use the flexibility of our cloud platform to mitigate the impact of global events and navigate market challenges,” said Mihir Shukla, CEO and co-founder of Automation Anywhere. “The funding enables us to expand our mission to unlock human potential by helping every company build a digital workforce and succeed with automation.”
Copper Technologies fills up the coffers with $196 million in Series C
London-based cryptocurrency manager Copper Technologies secured $196 million in a Series C funding round in October. Of that, 181 million dollars came from new and existing shareholders, while the rest from a convertible loan note, Yahoo Finance reported.
The firm, which is advised by former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, also withdrew its application to operate in the UK in October. The news comes after the firm – just like many other firms offering cryptocurrency services – had struggled to gain approval from the Financial Conduct Authority.
Uniswap provides $165 million in risk financing
Decentralized finance startup Uniswap has joined the coveted unicorn club after raising $165 million in a Series B raise. Polychain Capital led the raise that put the startup’s valuation at $1.7 billion, The Defiant reported. Other investors included Andressesn Horowitz, Paradigm, SV Angel and Variant.
CEO Hayden Adams said in a statement that the capital injection will be used to fund the development of their web app and development tools, launch non-fungible tokens (NFT) and move to mobile.
Bilt Rewards secures $150 million in growth round
Loyalty program fintech Bilt Rewards secured $150 million and a $1.5 billion valuation through a funding round in October. VC firm Left Lane Capital led the funding round that enabled the fintech firm to achieve its unicorn status, TechCrunch reported.
Wells Fargo, Greystar, Invitation Homes, Camber Creek, Fifth Wall, Smash Capital, Prosus Ventures and Kairos also backed the new round of capital. The round followed a $60 million cash injection secured in 2021.
While the company claims to have reached profitability earlier in 2022, Bilt Rewards founder and CEO Ankur Jain said the amount of interest from investors allowed it to flex its financial muscle and think more long-term. For example, the company can use the money to float publicly or to buy up smaller firms, TechCrunch reported.
Most of the company’s new cash flow will be held in reserves for the time being.
“Unlike a lot of the VC rat race companies where you’re just chasing growth for the sake of chasing growth, we can just continue to focus on the core business and the growth and think long term here,” Jain said TechCrunch. “That’s our goal and a big reason why we raised the capital right now.”
Versa Networks secured $120 million in pre-IPO funding
Versa Networks is a single vendor for Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) platforms. In other words, the start-up delivers cyber security solutions. With it securing a pre-initial round of $120 million in October, it therefore entered this list.
Investor force majeure BlackRock led the increase. Silicon Valley Bank also participated in the financing round. Versa will use the dosh to expand its go-to-market strategies and accelerate the development of its solutions.
“This funding will allow us to expand our go-to-market and accelerate new innovations that will further expand market opportunities for us as a company,” said Kelly Ahuja, CEO of Versa Networks.
Payments startup ConnexPay gets $110 million in new raise
Growth equity investor FTV Capital led ConnexPay’s new $110 million funding round in October. Earlier investors also supported the increase. The US-based payments platform will use the cash injection to fuel its international expansion into Europe.
“ConnexPay was founded to transform the entire payment experience for the travel industry, and now that mission extends to other payment intermediaries both in the US and around the world,” said Robert Kaufman, founder and CEO of ConnexPay.
Airwallex expands Series E round with $100 million top-up
Australia’s Airwallex secured $100 million in a Series E expansion round last month, making it one of the biggest fintech funding deals we saw in October.
Square Peg, Salesforce Ventures, Sequoia Capital China, Lone Pine Capital, Hermitage Capital, 1835i Ventures and Tencent. HostPlus, an Australian industry pension fund, as well as a leading North American pension fund also participated in this round.
While the payments and banking infrastructure company injected additional capital to sustain its international growth, Airwallex retained its $5.5 billion valuation.
“The valuation underscores investor confidence in Airwallex’s core business value and fundamentals, and we are fortunate to have the continued support of our existing investors, and the confidence of new investors, as we pursue our vision to become the global financial infrastructure for modern businesses,” said Jack Zhang, co-founder and CEO of Airwallex.
Tally Technologies Raises $80 Million in Series D Funding Round
Fintech startup Tally secured an 80 million USD Series D funding round in October. The financial automation venture said it would use the money to tackle the US credit card debt crisis with its automated debt repayment system.
Sway Ventures led the raise with participation from Menora Mivtachim. Previous investors Kleiner Perkins, Andreessen Horowitz, Shasta Ventures and Cowboy Ventures also participated in this round.
“Tally is a true industry innovator for its distinctive use of technology to help more consumers get out of debt, and we look forward to working with the Tally team to help expand their product offerings and reach, especially in a time where credit card balances are approaching all-time highs,” said Ken Denman, general partner at Sway Ventures.
GlobalData is the parent company of Verdict and its sister publications.
