Week update #7

Welcome to this edition of the weekly newsletter. The idea behind this activity is to gather all the information in the startup ecosystem in one place, with a special focus on the fintech market.

We are approaching the end of the year, and as always it is a time of summary and final report. I recently read a very interesting article by Mind the Bridge , that highlighted the status of various startup ecosystem around the world, with a specific reference to the numbers of scale up for every country.

As you can clearly see from the graph, there are some ecosystems (Italy, Spain, EAU), that in my opinion are in a perfect place to make skyrocketing growth in the upcoming years. Taking in consideration innovation cycle of 4-5 years on average, I strongly believe that we could easily see a boost of 4x in the number of scaleup in Milan (316 now) in the next future.

We obviously are still in a downturn anyway, so do not expect fireworks anytime soon.

In the #Fintech market, SumUp secured a whooping $285 millions, giving some confidence to the whole European ecosystem. While 苹果 is still looking for a partner, they are facing again some turbulence in South Korea, where the partnership with Hyundai is not going as expected. The only certainty right now, is that the hype on #AI is not going away anytime soon, with Mistral AI raising $415 millions.

In the Italian market Conio strikes a partnership with Coinbase to boost is liquidity on the crypto market. Smartpricing closed a wonderful €13 millions series A to go international.

But let's take a closer look at the main news.

Closed deals

• SumUp secures $285 millions to power growth and expansion;
• The NYC-based company Pontera closed a $60 millions funding round;
• Helix by HL closed a $6 millions Seed round;
• Mistral AI just closed a stunning $415 millions funding round;
• Liberis is on the move with $112 millions in debt financing;
• Tokyo-based Yoii Inc. secures $5.5 millions in a series A;
• The Saudi based Lendo | ????? just closed a $28 millions series B;
• GFO-X just closed a $30 millions series B funding round;
• African startup Bujeti (YC W23) just raised $2 millions in a seed round;
• French startup Pivot just closed a $21.6 millions series A;
• Paris based Aria closed an impressive $15 millions series A;
• The Saudi based Nearpay just raised a $14 millions series A funding round;
• Aye Finance Pvt. Ltd, Indian based, closed a $37.2 series F;
• Conta Simples raises $30.1 millions and obtains a banking license in Brasil;
• Solvento secures $50 millions to innovate the payment trucking system in LATM;
• Andalusia Labs raises $48 millions series A and reach a $1 billion valuation;
• The Mexican based Kapital just raised a $165 millions funding round;
• udaan.com just closed a stunning $340 millions series A, in on of India's biggest funding round ever;
• The personal finance startup Meniga closed a $15 millions series D funding round;
• 01Fintech invest $20 millions in Validus, fintech startups based in Singapore.

Strategic moves on the market

• Hyundai reported a loss of $1.72 millions in the partnership with 苹果 ;
• 苹果 open NFC tech to third party in Europe;
• Ebury acquires Prime Financial Markets and expand in South Africa;
• 荷兰銀行 acquires the trading platform based in Netherlands BUX ;
• Google teams up with Affirm and Zip Co to bring BNPL to Google pay;

A special look in the Italian market

• Conio close a partnership with the US exchange Coinbase ;
• Smartpricing close a stunning $13 millions funding round.

Take also a look at the last edition of the newsletter, Weekly update #5.

Startups raising funds

• PopulaRise - The platform that allows companies of every dimension to promote themselves on social media through the collaboration with their clients. B2B2C SaaS. Raising $1M.
• Cents - Fintech companies that allow corporate to include charity payments on their checkout. B2B SaaS. Raising $1M. Round closed!
• Bitcoin People - Fintech company focused on crypto payments between corporate and cross countries. B2B, SaaS. Raising $500k.
• Tutornow - Edtech that provides an online tutoring platform for students with learning disorders. Raising $500k to $1M.
• Recivu - Fintech? startup trying to digitize the receipt flow by getting rid of papers. Looking for $150k in SAFE, already $50k committed.
• Weagle - B2B Tech startup that provides the very first browser designed for company, with total security for sensitive data. Raising $6 millions for their seed round.
• Reach Finance - Reach is the fintech platform for wealth accumulation for the Y&Z generations, they provide users with the tools to build wealth such as a budget tracker, a financial plan and a systematization of investments. Looking for $700k, with already $500k committed;
• wrapp.ai - A fintech startups that offers a virtual accountant and CFO that can help SMEs scale globally. Looking for $1 million, $750k already granted from public funds, looking to close the last $350k.

If you are a startup and want to be present in this list, please contact me directly.

If you are an angel investor or a VC interested in those companies, contact me for an intro!

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