Venture capital
UAE defies fintech slowdown with a 92% jump in funding — against a global plunge of 48%
Europe’s fintech sector is fiercely competitive, with privately-held start-ups worth tens of billions of dollars vying to steal market share from incumbent banks. Oscar Wong | Moment | Getty Images The fintech industry saw more pain in 2023, with overall investment falling by half as higher interest rates and worsening macroeconomic conditions caused investors to […]
Coinbase secures crypto license in France, pushing deeper in Europe amid rift with the SEC
POLAND – 2023/08/01: In this photo illustration, a Coinbase logo displayed on a smartphone with stock server lights in the background. (Photo Illustration by Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase secured registration with the French markets regulator, a company spokesperson confirmed Thursday, paving the way […]
SoftBank-backed metaverse firm Improbable sells a key gaming venture for $97 million
Herman Narula, co-founder and CEO of Improbable, speaks during a session at the Web Summit in Lisbon. Henrique Casinhas | Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images Metaverse company Improbable has sold one of its key gaming ventures to London-listed video game developer Keywords Studios for £76.5 million ($97.1 million). The company closed the deal […]
SumUp, a rival to Jack Dorsey’s Block, defies fintech funding slump with $307 million cash injection
SumUp Chief Financial Officer Hermione McKee said the fresh capital gives the company “more firepower to act on opportunities,” including acquisitions and new country launches. SumUp British payments startup SumUp, known for its small card readers, on Monday announced it has raised 285 million euros ($306.6 million) in a bumper round of funding that values […]
European tech funding halves to $45 billion, back to pre-Covid levels — but AI is a bright spot
A 3D map showing the continent of Europe. Constantine Johnny | Moment | Getty Images Venture capital investment into Europe’s tech industry plunged by half in 2023 as investors continued to reel from the effects of high interest rates, according to data from venture capital firm Atomico. However, artificial intelligence was a standout category that […]
Plaid taps Adyen executive to lead its European operations
Plaid’s new head of Europe, Brian Dammeir. Plaid U.S. financial technology firm Plaid has hired former Adyen executive Brian Dammeir as its new head of Europe, the company told CNBC exclusively. Dammeir was previously Adyen’s global head of unified commerce, a role he led out of the Dutch payment company’s San Francisco office. Dammeir oversaw […]
As U.S.-China tensions rumble on, fintech unicorn Airwallex pushes into Latin America with Mexico deal
The deal, which is subject to regulatory approvals, marks a major push from Airwallex into Latin America. Airwallex Global fintech giant Airwallex on Thursday said it has agreed to acquire MexPago, a rival payments company based out of Mexico, for an undisclosed sum to help the firm expand its Latin America footprint. The company, which […]
A top European software investor raises $700 million — defying the venture capital slump
Malte Mueller | Fstop | Getty Images Dawn Capital, one of Europe’s biggest backers of business-to-business software companies, raised $700 million in two new funds — doubling down on its bid to find technology champions in the region at a time when venture capital funding for tech startups has dwindled. The London-based VC firm is […]
China VCs have a big problem — and it’s not just a drop in U.S. investor appetite
Pictured here is Shenzhen in southern China. The city is sometimes considered China’s Silicon Valley. Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images BEIJING — In the years since Alibaba’s U.S. listing in 2014, early-stage investing has drawn tens of billions of dollars into China with relatively little to show for it. Among China-focused investment firms, only […]
China VC deals plunge, on track for worst pace in more than seven years
Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi delisted from the New York Stock Exchange just months after its June 2021 IPO after a now-resolved regulatory probe that had forced Didi to suspend new user registrations. Brendan McDermid | Reuters BEIJING — Slowing growth and geopolitical tensions are stifling the Chinese startup world that once spawned unicorns such as […]