Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech (formerly The Interchange)! Sorry for being absent last week. I'm sick with a cold, but I'm back to talk about the fact that startup shutdowns are big business, Stripe's new valuation, Klarna's latest AI update, and more.
Get TechCrunch's roundup of the biggest and most important fintech stories delivered to your inbox every Sunday at 7:30 a.m. PT. Subscribe here.
big story
Last week, I wrote about Sunset and SimpleClosure, two startups that help other startups shut down funding. We took a deep dive into how and why this business has become so popular with investors. I also covered his takeover bid for Stripe, which boosted the payments giant's valuation by 30% to $65 billion. This means that the company is unlikely to go public this year after all. You can hear Alex Wilhelm and I discuss both topics on Friday's Equity Podcast episode. You can also hear the Nubank CEO talk with David Vélez about a variety of interesting topics.
This week's analysis
Klarna has been in the news a lot lately. Last week, an attempted coup by one of its investors, Matthew Miller of Sequoia Capital, made headlines and resulted in his ouster. This week, Swedish giant BNPL saw its full-year loss narrow ahead of a potential IPO. The company then caused a bit of controversy by announcing that its new AI assistant was doing “the same work as 700 full-time agents.” A company spokesperson told me in an email that since it was introduced globally just a month ago, the AI assistant has conducted 2.3 million conversations and manages two-thirds of Klarna's customer service chats. He said he was there. However, she stressed that the company has not made any cuts as a result of the launch of this AI assistant. She further added: “Klarna’s customer service is supported by four to five leading global partners who collectively employ over 650,000 people and work with thousands of different companies around the world. If one requires less support, these agents are assigned to new tasks at another company. With AI assistants, our customer service can operate with fewer people and requires significantly fewer resources. However, there is still a need for more experienced senior staff with specialized training for complex and sensitive cases.”
dollars and cents
Almost two years after securing $20 million in Series A funding, Colombian B2B financial solutions startup Simetrik is back with an additional investment worth $55 million in Series B funding led by Goldman Sachs. Ta.
Embat, a Spanish fintech company that does what it calls “real-time financial management,” has closed a $16 million Series A funding round led by Creandum.
Deel, a $12 billion HR business, announced the acquisition of Zavvy, a Munich-based AI-based “talent development” startup that builds tools for career advancement, training and performance management for individuals.
FairMoney, a Lagos-based digital bank headquartered in Paris, is set to acquire Umba, a credit-driven digital bank providing payroll and financial services to customers in Nigeria and Kenya, in a $20 million all-stock deal A person familiar with the matter told TechCrunch that discussions are underway. .
what else are you writing?
Google will discontinue the Google Pay app in the US later this year
Paytm wallet and FASTAg products will cease to exist, says Bernstein
Grifin's new model allows you to automatically invest your money while shopping
Cash App takes on Apple with 4.5% APY for savings accounts (with direct deposit)
Interesting headlines
Finix launches integrated payment services in Canada
Robinhood launches retirement plan for gig workers
Flourish Ventures promotes Narvaez and Gupta to principals
Embedded payments fintech Monite just raised $6 million in a round co-led by Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures
Marketa 'still on track' despite post-earnings share price drop: CEO
Cheese, a neobank for Asian Americans focused on building trust, claims to be withdrawing (TC first reported on Cheese here)
Morgan Stanley-backed TomoCredit isn't paying its bills and faces growing legal troubles
Knock begins funding individuals through Wefunder
KPMG's fintech momentum H2'23
CB Insights' 2023 State of Fintech Summary and Emerging Trends in 2024
PitchBook's fintech M&A outlook revealed
Follow me on X @bayareawriter Latest fintech news, coffee posts and more.