Big Tech on Banking
Much is changing for Big Tech as companies turn to the startup ecosystem to solve pain points like payments, instant transfers, and more. Week after week, they play the role of venture capitalists, funding solutions to help them maintain their place in the ‘money ecosystem.’ Interestingly, Big Tech won’t become a bank, but behave similarly to one:
- Offering credit services (Amazon, Apple, Google…)
- Developing financial products (Amazon Pay, Amazon Cash, Apple Savings…)
- Partnering with banks (Cloud contracts, etc.)
Will they replace banks or continue to rely on them? If this column indicates anything, Big Tech appears to be funding new solutions for all things money.
Notable trends this week…
- The U.S. startups fared well in deals
- Blockchain and Payments are HOT
- Smaller awards with increasing activity
Up next are this week’s top 5 VC deals…
1AtoB
$130M, Series C, Capital | Equity & Debt | SF | Payments | General Catalyst, Bloomberg Beta, Mastercard | https://www.atob.com/
LinkedIn Overview:
“The trucking and logistics industry provides the backbone of the economy. But the payments infrastructure on which it runs is from the past century and broken…“
2Yonder
$30.9M, Capital| Equity | UK | Payments | Dan Jones, Gareth Jefferies, Remus Brett | https://www.yonder.com/
LinkedIn Overview:
“The epic new credit card – build good credit habits while you earn and enjoy rewards at the best spots in town.“
3Wealth.com
$30M, Series A, Capital | Equity| AZ | Wealthtech | GV, Citi Ventures, Outpost Ventures, 53 Stations, Firebolt Ventures | https://www.wealth.com/
LinkedIn Description:
“Founded in 2021, wealth.com is the industry’s leading estate planning platform, empowering 500+ wealth management firms to modernize the delivery of estate planning guidance to their clients...“
4TON
$30M, Capital| Equity | UAE | Blockchain | Bitget and Foresight Ventures | https://ton.org/
LinkedIn Description:
“The Open Network Foundation acts in the interests of the community by supporting initiatives that help achieve The Open Network’s mission.“
5Drift Labs
$25M, Series B, Capital | Equity | Decentralized exchange platform built on Solana | Blockchain | Multicoin Capital, Blockchain Capital, Primitive Ventures, Folius Ventures |
Description courtesy of Yahoo!Finance:
“Founded in 2021 as a derivatives exchange on Solana, Drift differs from centralized exchanges operating entirely via a permissionless structure on the blockchain. This means no one controls funds except for users themselves.”
