Here are the stories that garnered the most interest from readers<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\nW<\/span><\/em><\/p>\nelcome to <\/em>The Interchange<\/em><\/a>! If you received this in your inbox, thank you for signing up and your vote of confidence. If you\u2019re reading this as a post on our site, sign up <\/em>here<\/em><\/a> so you can receive it directly in the future. Every week, I\u2019ll take a look at the hottest fintech news of the previous week. This will include everything from funding rounds to trends to an analysis of a particular space to hot takes on a particular company or phenomenon. There\u2019s a lot of fintech news out there and it\u2019s my job to stay on top of it \u2014 and make sense of it \u2014 so you can stay in the know. \u2014 <\/em>Mary Ann<\/em><\/a><\/p>\nAs this year comes to a close, it\u2019s an obviously fitting time to take a look back at some of the highlights (and lowlights) in the world of fintech news.<\/p>\n
We started 2022 on a relatively high note. Mega rounds were still taking place! Decacorns were born. Venture capital was still readily available. Then sometime in the second quarter, things took a turn. And they\u2019ve been turning ever since.<\/p>\n
In deciding how to approach the final edition of this newsletter for the year, I was curious as to which of my stories performed the best. So I asked our incredible audience development manager, Alyssa Stringer<\/a>, to pull my top 15 stories based on the number of page views. In summary, dear readers, it seems you all were most interested in coverage of companies at their peaks and in coverage of companies at their lowest. It was the best of times. And then it felt like the worst of times. And oh, many of you were curiously really curious about the concept of fractional real estate investing.<\/p>\nHere were my top 15 most-read stories on the TechCrunch site in 2022:<\/p>\n
\n- \u2018We probably pissed away $200 million,\u2019 Better.com CEO told employees in layoffs meeting<\/a>: A collab with the brilliant Zack Whittaker<\/a>, where we got to hear for ourselves Vishal Garg address employees . . . and it wasn\u2019t pretty.<\/li>\n
- Fast shuts doors after slow growth, high burn precluded fundraising options<\/a>: A collab with my dear friend, TC+ editor and Equity podcast co-host Alex Wilhelm<\/a>. Watching one-click checkout startup Fast crash and burn was certainly one of the biggest stories in fintech this year.<\/li>\n
- Ramp confirms new $8.1B valuation after \u2018a nearly 10x\u2019 YoY increase in revenue<\/a>: The corporate spend startup had doubled its valuation from August 2021 to March 2022. The space in which it operates has only gotten more crowded. Meanwhile, the company has since expanded into new lines of business.<\/li>\n
- Fintech Roundup: Better.com workers leaving in \u2018droves\u2019 in wake of CEO Vishal Garg\u2019s return<\/a>: This one is particularly meaningful for me, as it was the soft launch of what would ultimately become The Interchange. Also, one of many Better.com-related scoops.<\/li>\n
- PayPal shuttering its San Francisco office<\/a>: This one kinda surprised me, as it didn\u2019t strike me as that<\/em> major of news, but perhaps it was a sign of what was to come later in 2022.<\/li>\n
- Forerunner, Bezos back Arrived, a startup that lets you buy into single-family rentals for \u2018as little as $100\u2019<\/a>: This nearly tied with the PayPal piece above. It got a lot of interest \u2014 perhaps it was a combination of the very compelling business model and the fact that Jeff Bezos was a backer.<\/li>\n
- Better.com employees learned of layoffs when severance checks appeared in payroll app<\/a>: Another scoop that had many of us shaking our heads in wonder (and not in a good way).<\/li>\n
- Fintech Klarna reportedly raising at a $6.5B valuation, giving new meaning to the phrase \u2018down round\u2019<\/a>: This perhaps marked an inflection point in 2022. When a company that was valued at $45 billion last year is raising at about 1\/7 of that, people pay attention. The tide was turning in the fintech space, and this news made a lot of people very nervous, as it felt like proof that the party that was 2021 was over.<\/li>\n
- Better.com loses more senior execs as employees brace for another mass layoff<\/a>: Another scoop that had many of us shaking our heads in wonder (and not in a good way).<\/li>\n
- \u00a0 The fintech layoffs just keep on coming<\/a>:\u00a0When 2022 began, the only layoffs I was covering were being conducted by Better.com. But by early November, it was sadly very apparent that layoffs were rampant across the fintech industry.<\/li>\n
- \u00a0 Alchemy, which aims to be the \u2018de facto platform\u2019 for developers to build on web3, is now valued at $10.2B<\/a>: I wrote this back when I was still doing some crypto reporting. Alchemy grew a lot, very quickly. It might be a good time to check on them considering all that has happened in the crypto space since that raise.<\/li>\n
- \u00a0 Fintech Brex confirms $12.3B valuation, snaps up Meta exec to serve as its head of product<\/a>: This published in January. By October, I was writing about the company\u2019s layoffs. A lot went on in between, including the company\u2019s controversial decision to stop serving SMBs.<\/li>\n
- \u00a0 Better.com plans to lay off about 4,000 people this week, sources say<\/a>: You guessed it, another scoop.<\/li>\n
- \u00a0 Fintech startup Jeeves raises $180M, quadruples valuation to $2.1B in half a year<\/a>: The velocity of Jeeves\u2019s growth and valuation increase was impressive. A BaaS company in the corporate card and expense management space. But even as early as March, the startup\u2019s CEO noted of the fundraising process: \u201cThe market looked very different in January and February than it did in December.\u201d<\/li>\n
- \u00a0 Landa can make you a landlord with just $5<\/a>:\u00a0Like I said, it appears you all are really interested in fractional real estate investing, or maybe just a lot of people secretly want to become landlords.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
It was an eventful, and at times nerve-racking, year that was far more than just the above. Venture dollars flowing into fintech slowed<\/a>, just as with any other sector. Characters got called into question. But I remain hopeful. The companies that were doing meaningful things in 2021 and in 2022 will continue to do so. They may be spending more mindfully and working a bit more quietly \u2014 but IMHO, that\u2019s not a bad thing. Fintech innovation remains more important than ever, especially as it pertains to inclusion and access. There are so many startups doing amazing work. We can\u2019t let the few bad apples taint it all. I know there remains a long road ahead. We\u2019re not done correcting the excesses of 2021. But I, for one, am excited for what fintech will bring in 2023. (Speaking of, check out the Equity team\u2019s predictions for next year here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n![\"Vishal](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/better-layoffs-meeting-vishal.jpg\")
<\/p>\nLeaked meeting recording\/Better.com Image Credits:<\/strong> TechCrunch<\/p>\n<\/div>\nWeekly News<\/h2>\n
Banking app Copper launches a teen investing product<\/a><\/p>\nVisa to invest $1B in Africa over the next five years<\/a><\/p>\nWhy Checkout.com lowered its internal valuation<\/a><\/p>\nChime made two offers to buy DailyPay, topping out at $2 billion, but was spurned\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\nRobinhood raised interest rates for Gold members \u2014 to 4% APY<\/a><\/p>\nInsurtech Vouch launches web3 protection policy, touts as first insurance designed specifically for web3 companies<\/a><\/p>\nLondon-based Wise says it is profitable and plans to hire over 250 new employees across three U.S. offices<\/a><\/p>\nSelf Financial adds rent and utility reporting to its suite of credit-building products<\/a><\/p>\nCapchase, which provides \u2018non-dilutive\u2019 financing to SaaS companies, says revenue rose by 250% in 2022<\/a><\/p>\nMicrosoft to acquire 4% stake in London Stock Exchange Group as part of 10-year cloud partnership<\/a><\/p>\nHighnote expands platform capabilities by certifying with Visa\u2019s fleet payments solutions<\/a><\/p>\nIndia\u2019s Paytm to spend up to $103 million to buy back shares<\/a><\/p>\nFunding and M&A<\/h2>\n
Poolit raises millions to turn accredited investors into LPs in VC, private equity funds<\/a><\/p>\nNilus lands $8.5M led by Bessemer to automate your financial operations<\/a><\/p>\nVic.ai raises $52M, shows that automating accounting processes can be profitable<\/a><\/p>\nLondon-based B2B fintech Bondaval raises $15M Series A<\/a><\/p>\nDataVisor raises $40M strategic growth funding<\/a><\/p>\nPlooto closes $20M Series B to help SMBs manage cash flow<\/a><\/p>\nOyster raises $3.6M seed to launch its point-of-sale platform for personal insurance<\/a><\/p>\nBarcelona-based fintech Novicap raises a \u20ac200 million debt facility to fuel growth for businesses and organizations<\/a><\/p>\nFriendly PSA: We want you to join us in Boston on April 20 at TechCrunch Early Stage 2023<\/a>, and we\u2019ve got a great end-of-2022 discount to help you out with the rest of your holiday shopping. Register with this link<\/strong><\/a> by 11:59 p.m. PST on December 31 and book a Founder Pass for just $75 \u2014 regularly $149!<\/strong> Early Stage is TechCrunch\u2019s one-day founder summit, where you\u2019ll get actionable advice and takeaways from top experts, meet other entrepreneurs taking similar journeys, share your own experiences and build the confidence to take the next steps toward growing your business. Don\u2019t wait \u2014 book your Founder Pass today for just $75 with this <\/strong>link<\/strong><\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\nAnd with that, I will sign off. This is the last newsletter I\u2019ll publish in 2022. I don\u2019t know where this year went, and to be honest, in many ways it was really, really hard. But there were also a lot of bright spots, including growing this newsletter audience and having the honor of sharing this content with all of you. Thank you again. Happy holidays to all of you, and Happy and Healthy New Year! May it be a better, brighter and wonderful year. xoxo, Mary Ann<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
W<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n elcome to <\/em>The Interchange<\/em><\/a>! If you received this in your inbox, thank you for signing up and your vote of confidence. If you\u2019re reading this as a post on our site, sign up <\/em>here<\/em><\/a> so you can receive it directly in the future. Every week, I\u2019ll take a look at the hottest fintech news of the previous week. This will include everything from funding rounds to trends to an analysis of a particular space to hot takes on a particular company or phenomenon. There\u2019s a lot of fintech news out there and it\u2019s my job to stay on top of it \u2014 and make sense of it \u2014 so you can stay in the know. \u2014 <\/em>Mary Ann<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n As this year comes to a close, it\u2019s an obviously fitting time to take a look back at some of the highlights (and lowlights) in the world of fintech news.<\/p>\n We started 2022 on a relatively high note. Mega rounds were still taking place! Decacorns were born. Venture capital was still readily available. Then sometime in the second quarter, things took a turn. And they\u2019ve been turning ever since.<\/p>\n In deciding how to approach the final edition of this newsletter for the year, I was curious as to which of my stories performed the best. So I asked our incredible audience development manager, Alyssa Stringer<\/a>, to pull my top 15 stories based on the number of page views. In summary, dear readers, it seems you all were most interested in coverage of companies at their peaks and in coverage of companies at their lowest. It was the best of times. And then it felt like the worst of times. And oh, many of you were curiously really curious about the concept of fractional real estate investing.<\/p>\n Here were my top 15 most-read stories on the TechCrunch site in 2022:<\/p>\n It was an eventful, and at times nerve-racking, year that was far more than just the above. Venture dollars flowing into fintech slowed<\/a>, just as with any other sector. Characters got called into question. But I remain hopeful. The companies that were doing meaningful things in 2021 and in 2022 will continue to do so. They may be spending more mindfully and working a bit more quietly \u2014 but IMHO, that\u2019s not a bad thing. Fintech innovation remains more important than ever, especially as it pertains to inclusion and access. There are so many startups doing amazing work. We can\u2019t let the few bad apples taint it all. I know there remains a long road ahead. We\u2019re not done correcting the excesses of 2021. But I, for one, am excited for what fintech will bring in 2023. (Speaking of, check out the Equity team\u2019s predictions for next year here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Leaked meeting recording\/Better.com Image Credits:<\/strong> TechCrunch<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Banking app Copper launches a teen investing product<\/a><\/p>\n Visa to invest $1B in Africa over the next five years<\/a><\/p>\n Why Checkout.com lowered its internal valuation<\/a><\/p>\n Chime made two offers to buy DailyPay, topping out at $2 billion, but was spurned\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Robinhood raised interest rates for Gold members \u2014 to 4% APY<\/a><\/p>\n Insurtech Vouch launches web3 protection policy, touts as first insurance designed specifically for web3 companies<\/a><\/p>\n London-based Wise says it is profitable and plans to hire over 250 new employees across three U.S. offices<\/a><\/p>\n Self Financial adds rent and utility reporting to its suite of credit-building products<\/a><\/p>\n Capchase, which provides \u2018non-dilutive\u2019 financing to SaaS companies, says revenue rose by 250% in 2022<\/a><\/p>\n Microsoft to acquire 4% stake in London Stock Exchange Group as part of 10-year cloud partnership<\/a><\/p>\n Highnote expands platform capabilities by certifying with Visa\u2019s fleet payments solutions<\/a><\/p>\n India\u2019s Paytm to spend up to $103 million to buy back shares<\/a><\/p>\n Poolit raises millions to turn accredited investors into LPs in VC, private equity funds<\/a><\/p>\n Nilus lands $8.5M led by Bessemer to automate your financial operations<\/a><\/p>\n Vic.ai raises $52M, shows that automating accounting processes can be profitable<\/a><\/p>\n London-based B2B fintech Bondaval raises $15M Series A<\/a><\/p>\n DataVisor raises $40M strategic growth funding<\/a><\/p>\n Plooto closes $20M Series B to help SMBs manage cash flow<\/a><\/p>\n Oyster raises $3.6M seed to launch its point-of-sale platform for personal insurance<\/a><\/p>\n Barcelona-based fintech Novicap raises a \u20ac200 million debt facility to fuel growth for businesses and organizations<\/a><\/p>\n Friendly PSA: We want you to join us in Boston on April 20 at TechCrunch Early Stage 2023<\/a>, and we\u2019ve got a great end-of-2022 discount to help you out with the rest of your holiday shopping. Register with this link<\/strong><\/a> by 11:59 p.m. PST on December 31 and book a Founder Pass for just $75 \u2014 regularly $149!<\/strong> Early Stage is TechCrunch\u2019s one-day founder summit, where you\u2019ll get actionable advice and takeaways from top experts, meet other entrepreneurs taking similar journeys, share your own experiences and build the confidence to take the next steps toward growing your business. Don\u2019t wait \u2014 book your Founder Pass today for just $75 with this <\/strong>link<\/strong><\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n And with that, I will sign off. This is the last newsletter I\u2019ll publish in 2022. I don\u2019t know where this year went, and to be honest, in many ways it was really, really hard. But there were also a lot of bright spots, including growing this newsletter audience and having the honor of sharing this content with all of you. Thank you again. Happy holidays to all of you, and Happy and Healthy New Year! May it be a better, brighter and wonderful year. xoxo, Mary Ann<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
<\/p>\nWeekly News<\/h2>\n
Funding and M&A<\/h2>\n