Over the past few years, the fintech industry has faced its fair share of challenges, with companies like Brex downsizing to cut costs and navigate the market. However, amidst all the negativity, there are still plenty of positive developments that indicate a thriving market for financial technology products.
One such example is Bilt Rewards, a startup focused on rewards, which recently secured a massive round of funding at a significantly higher unicorn valuation. This is just one of the many successful fintech companies that have caught the attention of investors.
At the same time, major players such as Klarna are taking steps to improve profitability and sustain growth, proving that the industry is still attracting significant capital from investors who remain cautiously optimistic.
In fact, venture capitalists are so bullish on fintech that GGV US has compiled a list of the top 50 fintech startups that have garnered the most praise from investors. We also had the opportunity to speak with GGV managing partner Hans Tung to gain insights into the current state of the sector.
While various sub-sectors of fintech are seeing notable success, lending, treasury management, and the CFO stack are particularly noteworthy areas to keep an eye on.
But why does it seem like fintech is struggling in 2021? A major factor may be certain startups that raised excessive amounts of funding at extremely high valuations a few years ago. This has led to overstaffing and unrealistic equity prices in today’s market.
[…] Fintech has been struggling lately, with companies like Brex cutting staff and trying to cut costs. But amidst all that negativity, there is still plenty of positive news in the world of financial technology. Bilt Rewards just raised a massive funding round, Klarna is retooling for more growth, and venture investors are still cautiously optimistic about the sector. […]