Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech! This week, we look at how many fintech companies entered Y Combinator’s Winter 2024 cohort, how much funding declined in Q1, and more!
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The big story
Y Combinator held demo days for its winter cohort this week. As always, the TC team was everywhere. What struck me was how much the representation of fintechs in their cohorts is decreasing. Of the 260 companies in the latest cohort, almost 30 of them, or 8%, were classified as fintech. This compares to 10% in summer 2023, 21% in summer 2022, and 24% in winter 2022. So there were a third of the percentage of fintech companies this year compared to there two years. Among the companies selected this year, Christine noticed that cross-border fintech is currently in vogue.
Analysis of the week
Fintech funding declined 16% quarter-over-quarter in the three months ended March 31, according to CB Insights’ Q1 2024 State of the Business report. But what’s even more troubling than this double-digit decline is the fact that the $7.3 billion raised globally by fintech startups during the three-month period marked the highest level lowest the sector has seen since early 2017. On the positive side, there was a 15% increase. increase in stock transactions last quarter, which “means that investors continue to be interested in fintech solutions, particularly payment technologies”, according to a CB Insights spokesperson. During the three-month period, 904 investments were made in fintech startups, up from 786 in the previous quarter, indicating smaller deals.
Dollars and cents
Manish Singh reports that Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal is in talks to raise capital for his new startup, Indian fintech Navi. Bansal is talking with investors to raise a valuation of around $2 billion, three sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. A source said it was looking to raise between $200 million and $400 million. Bansal has largely self-funded Navi so far, and this would be the Bangalore-based startup’s first major outside fundraise since its founding in 2018.
What else do we write
For years, banks have been financing large renewable energy projects, from utility-scale solar farms to utility-scale wind farms. But small projects, like installing a heat pump in someone’s home or renovating affordable housing, are often left aside. They just haven’t been lucrative enough. But the demand is there, which is why advocates are clamoring for the federal government to support a so-called green bank, which would support these kinds of projects.
This green bank is now a reality. Last Thursday, the EPA announced that it had awarded $20 billion in Inflation Reduction Act grants to eight organizations that will use the money to provide loans that will help them complete these projects, reports Tim De Chant .
Very interesting titles
Hapax launches with generative AI tool for financial services
Houston tech platform raises Series C round backed by Mastercard
Brim Financial Closes $85M Series C Led by EDC to Fund U.S. Expansion
Advent buys Ryan Reynolds-backed fintech Nuvei in $6.3 billion deal
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