Welcome to the latest update from TechCrunch Fintech! This week, we delve into Sequoia Capital’s unique approach to providing liquidity to its limited partners through an offer to purchase shares in Stripe, the growing interest in Latin American fintech companies among investors, and notable funding rounds for startups like Nala, Adfin, and Adaptive.
The big news revolves around Sequoia Capital’s innovative move to offer its limited partners the opportunity to sell up to $861 million worth of shares in Stripe. This decision reflects both the firm’s confidence in Stripe’s future success and its commitment to rewarding investors. With Stripe’s most recent valuation at $70 billion, the move indicates a strong belief in the company’s potential.
Turning our focus to Latin American fintechs, investors continue to show interest in the region. CloudWalk is reportedly raising significant funds at a valuation of at least $4 billion, while Caliza secured $8.5 million to facilitate real-time money transfers in Latin America using crypto stablecoins. Additionally, OneCarNow, a Mexican fintech catering to gig workers, announced $86 million in funding.
In Africa, Nala, a remittance startup, raised $40 million in equity, marking one of the largest Series A transactions on the continent. Meanwhile, Adfin, a UK-based startup, raised $4.9 million to help companies streamline invoice payments. Adaptive, a fintech offering financial management automation, closed a $19 million Series A round led by Emergence Capital.
In other news, the Synapse incident has raised concerns about the banking-as-a-service concept, leaving millions of consumers unable to access their funds. Evolve Bank & Trust confirmed a data breach affecting millions of individuals, while the European Union reached a settlement with Apple over its Apple Pay operations to promote competition in the mobile payments sector.
On a lighter note, Better CEO Vishal Garg was ordered to pay $5.5 million in a lawsuit, Bain Capital announced a $45 billion deal to acquire financial software vendor Envestnet, and CNBC released its list of the world’s top 250 fintech companies for 2024. Additionally, fintech funding reached a five-quarter high in Q2, according to CB Insights.
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