The Monday Roundup: what we are watching this week | November 14th

By Puja Sharma

The Monday Roundup sets the scene for the week’s biggest news stories, industry deals, and upcoming events. For Prime subscribers only.

Winter is coming

❄️FinTech funding fell 38% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) to $12.9B – the same level as Q4 ’20. Deals fell slightly, dropping 9% QoQ to reach 1,160.

Mega-rounds also accounted for a smaller percentage of total funding (34%) compared to the average of 66% in 2021. According to the report, mega-rounds declined in Q3 2022, deal sizes shrank, new unicorn births plummeted, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) dropped. Only 19 mega-rounds worth US$100 million and over were recorded in Q3 2022, the fewer since Q2 2018. These rounds accounted for just 34% of total funding ($4.4 billion), down 32% points from the 2021 average of 66%.

Startup funding has pulled back significantly this year amid a public market slump and economic concerns. VC investment for Q3 2022 totaled US$74.5 billion, hitting a nine-quarter low. This represents a 34% QoQ drop and is the largest quarterly decline in the last decade, data shows.

🛍️Lentra, a cloud lending platform, has closed its Series B funding round with a transaction value of  $60 million, led by existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners and SIG Venture Capital with participation from Citi Ventures. The funding will be used for products+platform strengthening and also for international expansion, including the USA.

D Venkatesh, Founder & CEO, Lentra said, “We see a massive opportunity for ourselves in the retail assets and business banking areas worldwide. At the same time, our clients see us as a source of competitive advantage for their business. Ten-fold revenue growth and some of the biggest retail banks as our clients now, act as markers of our solution architecture. I am excited that our investors see the same opportunity and are confident of our ability to execute.”

Entry and exit…

📱The North African “super app” Yassir raises $150m in Series B funding to offer rideshare, food delivery, and banking services.

In addition to BOND, DN Capital, Dorsal Capital, Quiet Capital, Stanford Alumni Ventures (aka Spike Ventures), and Y Combinator also participated in the investment. Three core services are offered by the super app: ride-hailing, food and grocery delivery, and financial services.

Yassir also offers financial services. The company pointed to a 2018 report by McKinsey & Company on growth and innovation in African retail banking, which found that more than half (57%) of Africa’s population lack any form of a bank account.

In addition, among African banking customers, 40% prefer digital channels for transactions. By providing consumers in Africa with a mobile banking solution, as part of a more comprehensive suite of services, Yassir said it is meeting an important need in the market, one where 50% of the population already have mobile internet access.

👋Arta a financial management platform that aims to become the family office for everyone has exited stealth with a $90 million equity investment.

Over 140 angel investors contributed funds, including Sequoia Capital India, Ribbit, and Coatue. Jeff Dean, Michael Miebach, Betsy Cohen, and Eric Schmidt are among those involved in the tech and finance sectors.

Ultra-wealthy individuals employ teams of professionals who leverage sophisticated financial strategies and can invest in opportunities that are not accessible to the ordinary person. Family offices are these kinds of teams, and Arta wants to become the family office for everyone. A personalised, automated portfolio can be created by users on its platform by using AI-managed stocks, bonds, options, and leverage.

The CEO and co-founder of Arta Finance, Caesar Sengupta, believes that a secure, happy future shouldn’t be the monopoly of the ultra-rich. “Everyone should have a chance to take charge of their financial lives in the same way that wealthier and financially savvier people do.”

What is the buzz

💸The UK is today leading a global agreement to make green technologies cheaper and more accessible around the world, while also creating green jobs for generations both at home and abroad, Grant Shapps said on 11th November.

Speaking at the COP27 negotiations in Egypt, the Business Secretary announced over £65 million investment to help speed up the development of new green technologies – backed by the talent and expertise of British business. This builds on the legacy of COP26 in Glasgow, where the UK founded a coalition of countries to scale and speed up the development and deployment of clean technologies and drive down costs this decade, known as the Breakthrough Agenda.

Mr. Shapps said it will be the efforts of entrepreneurs, innovators, and the international community that will help cut global emissions in the coming decade and achieve net zero by 2050 – something today’s investments will help achieve.