FinTech Wire: Episode #68 – Non-Mainstream News, October 2024

Sometimes, the best code comes from a change in perspective. Karol Gajos brings a blend of leadership, vision, and a record of success, proven meticulously during his time at Pentacomp.

Expect us to push new boundaries, explore emerging technologies, and deliver more value to our current and future clients.

Welcome to the team, Karol Gajos! Let’s build something amazing together.

Read the full announcement here!

Pantheon Mining, a Dutch startup focused exclusively on high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and institutional investors, has raised €1 million to fuel its expansion in Bitcoin mining. Known for its hands-on “Mining-as-a-Service” model, Pantheon assigns each investor a personal manager, guiding them through the complexities of Bitcoin mining with 25 years of collective expertise. This funding will allow Pantheon to broaden its offerings, enhance its technology, and build new mining centers focused on sustainable energy, positioning itself for growth amid rising market interest.

Via.ai has launched its new AI-driven concierge platform, aimed at enhancing customer engagement for financial institutions and travel retailers. The platform provides personalized lifestyle and travel experiences, helping clients build loyalty and drive revenue.

Already, Via.ai is delivering results. Travel company Issta, an early client, recently won an innovation award for using the platform to boost engagement. Via.ai’s team includes experts from AI, travel, and financial services, and the platform is designed to enable thousands of customized interactions daily, increasing transaction value and customer loyalty. This marks the start of an ambitious journey for Via.ai in transforming digital customer experiences.

Cover Genius has achieved a major milestone with its first fully automated claim, thanks to investment in technology and an in-house claims team. CEO Angus McDonald says this automation speeds up approvals for the 80% of claims that are routine, reducing wait times for customers.

Celebrating 10 years, the Sydney-based embedded insurance provider brought claims in-house to improve customer experience and stand out in the market. Cover Genius’s partners prioritize customer satisfaction, tracking claims and resolution times closely. McDonald says their focus on supporting distribution partners sets them apart from traditional insurers.

Dash0 has officially launched, aiming to simplify observability with a streamlined platform built on OpenTelemetry. Designed to address industry pain points like unpredictable costs and complex integrations, Dash0 combines logs, metrics, and traces into one centralized system.

With a focus on transparency and flexibility, Dash0 offers a unified view of infrastructure dependencies, detailed trace filtering, and full-context logging to enhance data clarity. The platform also enables direct metrics management, giving users control over costs and insights through an intuitive dashboard interface.

Dash0’s pricing is straightforward, at $0.60 per million logs, spans, or events, and $0.20 per million metrics.

Sharegain has partnered with financial technology platform Drivewealth to expand securities lending opportunities for online brokers worldwide. DriveWealth, known for its brokerage-as-a-service model, is enhancing its securities lending capabilities with Sharegain’s agency lending, tailored to meet UK and European regulatory standards.

The integration allows online brokers to leverage the combined capabilities of both platforms, covering execution, clearing, custody, instrument screening, and pricing.

Applications Tenity’s for are now open for the New Nordic Challengers 2025, a VC-backed program supporting FinTech, InsurTech, RegTech, EnterpriseTech, Web3, and other innovative financial sector startups.

Selected startups can receive EUR 50,000 in funding, with an additional EUR 250,000 possible, plus access to a network of industry leaders, investors, and mentors. With a strong track record in fintech, the VC offers expertise and partnership for founders aiming to scale.

Last year, the firm made 46 pre-seed investments across Zurich, Singapore, and Tallinn, providing early-stage founders with capital, industry insights, and a global network.

Mala has raised $7 million in pre-seed funding led by VentureSouq, joined by several regional investors. Founded by Musaab Hakami, Mala provides a “buy now, pay later” solution for businesses, offering flexible 30- and 60-day payment terms across online, phone, and in-store purchases.

Hakami, a seasoned angel investor, says the platform leverages data to offer more reliable credit options. The platform is set to launch in the coming months.

Tabs has raised $25 million in a Series A round led by General Catalyst, with continued support from Lightspeed, Primary, and others, bringing its total funding to over $35 million. The company also welcomed Alex Tran to its board.

Since emerging from stealth six months ago, Tabs’ AI-driven revenue automation platform has quickly gained traction with high-growth companies like Alkira, Cortex, and Statsig. Built specifically for B2B finance, Tabs’ platform uses its “Commercial Graph” to automate the revenue process, from billing and payments to revenue recognition and reporting.

Bitget launched “Pitch n Slay,” an initiative under its $10 million Blockchain4Her program to support women-led blockchain startups. In partnership with Foresight Ventures, World of Women, and Women in Web3, the program offers female founders the chance to secure up to $100,000 in funding and receive mentorship from blockchain experts. Participants will gain guidance on market strategy, scaling, and tech development, providing essential resources for growth in the blockchain space.

Fintech Global reports that in Q3 of 2024, the global FinTech sector experienced a significant year-over-year decline in both deal activity and funding levels, with deal activity falling 57% year-over-year. Investors become increasingly cautious amid tough economic conditions. This slowdown in high-value deals highlights a more conservative approach among investors.

“Meanwhile, total funding for the year is on track to close around $66.2bn, a noteworthy 53% decline from the $140.2bn raised in 2023.”