Venture funding

Stablecore, a recently founded fintech, completed its first funding round with the goal of bringing stablecoin technology to banks and credit unions.

The Pennsylvania company spent the last five years adding lines of business, cleaning up its balance sheet and leveling up its technology. This year, Customers needs to churn out consistent earnings to prove that the investments were worth the costs.

A Plaid spokesperson said an IPO remains 'a milestone we're tracking toward' but it wouldn't happen this year.

Fintechs were already clustered in New York and San Francisco. Now that most startups work with the four largest banks, it's even harder to create new technology in the heartland.

StellarFi, Stratyfy, FinClusive and Oscilar have all had positive news in recent days.

Bank of America was an anchor investor for a new $100 million fund managed by Mendoza Ventures, which backs companies with founders from minority and other diverse backgrounds in the financial technology, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity industries.

The rate of venture funding to startups run by women continues to decline.

Crypto startups finally felt the effects of an economic storm that has been cooling digital currencies, public stocks and venture capital all year. Funding to private crypto companies in the second quarter fell to its lowest level in a year, according to data from PitchBook.

Klarna Bank is in talks to raise new equity at a valuation as low as $6 billion, a fraction of the $45.6 billion it commanded last summer as it became Europe’s most valuable startup, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The buy now/pay later startup Zilch has raised a further $50 million, upping the total raise for its Series C fundraising to $160 million as it plans bolster U.S. expansion plans. 

Rakefet Russak-Aminoach, who led the Israeli bank for seven years, now funds and helps build fintechs that work with other fintechs and banks.

Codat, a software startup that connects small businesses with financial institutions, raised $100 million in an equity funding round led by JPMorgan Chase’s growth-equity arm.

Deserve, a credit card technology startup, said it secured a $250 million credit facility from banks led by Goldman Sachs Group. 

Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures Management is leading a $185 million funding round for Canada’s Neo Financial Technologies, propelling it to a valuation of more than $1 billion as it plans expansion into mortgages.

Celebrities on the investor roster include Ashton Kutcher, Justin Bieber, Steve Aoki and Gwyneth Paltrow. 

Circle Internet Financial, the issuer of USD Coin, the second-largest stablecoin, landed $400 million in funding from a group that includes BlackRock and Fidelity Management and Research, a sign of traditional finance’s growing acceptance of the exploding cryptocurrency industry.

Ramp, a startup that offers corporate cards and other finance tools to businesses, raised $750 million in a funding round that valued the fintech at $8.1 billion.

Gauntlet, a financial-risk modeling platform for crypto lending, raised a new round of funding that pushed its valuation to $1 billion.

Revolut’s Chief Revenue Officer Alan Chang is leaving the U.K. financial technology startup for a new cryptocurrency venture and is seeking to raise roughly $100 million in financing.

Zeta Services, a banking and credit card technology unicorn, has raised $30 million from investors including Mastercard, and the two announced a five-year collaboration to help customers launch credit card services.