Once Close Enough for an Acquisition, Stripe and Airwallex Are Now Going After Each Other
Airwallex rejected Stripe's $1.2 billion acquisition bid when it was pulling $2 million in revenue, opting to stay independent. Since then the Melbourne‑based fintech has surged to over $1.3 billion in annualized revenue, 85% year‑over‑year growth, and processes roughly $300 billion in transactions. By amassing close to 90 financial licences across 50 markets, it can hold funds locally and cut 2‑3% foreign‑exchange fees that Stripe typically charges. The two firms, once merger candidates, are now head‑to‑head as Airwallex eyes a U.S. push and Stripe expands globally, despite a valuation gap of roughly twenty‑fold.
Slash, a Ramp Competitor Founded by Teenagers, Raises $100M at $1.4B Valuation
Slash Financial announced a $100 million Series C round that lifts its valuation to $1.4 billion. The fintech, founded by 19‑year‑old Victor Cardenas and Kevin Bai, now 24, offers business‑banking, corporate cards, transfers and crypto services. It reports $300 million in annualized revenue and...
Doss Raises $55M for AI Inventory Management that Plugs Into ERP
AI‑native ERP startup Doss announced a $55 million Series B round led by Madrona and Premji Invest to expand its AI‑driven inventory management layer. The solution plugs into existing accounting platforms, allowing mid‑market consumer brands to synchronize physical goods data with their...
Fuse Raises $25M to Disrupt Aging Loan Origination Systems Used by US Credit Unions
Fuse announced a $25 million Series A round led by Footwork, Primary Venture Partners, NextView Ventures and Commerce Ventures to build an AI‑native loan‑origination system for U.S. credit unions. The platform promises to replace legacy LOS software that can take up to...
Marquis Sues Firewall Provider SonicWall, Alleges Security Failings with Its Firewall Backup Led to Ransomware Attack
Fintech firm Marquis has filed a lawsuit against firewall vendor SonicWall, alleging that a 2025 breach of SonicWall’s cloud backup service exposed critical firewall configuration data. The compromised backup files allegedly gave threat actors the keys to bypass SonicWall defenses,...
Stripe, PayPal Ventures Bet on India’s Xflow to Fix Cross-Border B2B Payments
Xflow, a Bengaluru‑based fintech, closed a $16.6 million Series A round led by General Catalyst with participation from Stripe and PayPal Ventures, valuing the company at $85 million post‑money. The startup now has over $32 million in total funding and processes roughly $1 billion in...
Fintech Lending Giant Figure Confirms Data Breach
Fintech lender Figure Technology confirmed a data breach after an employee fell for a social‑engineering attack, allowing the hacking group ShinyHunters to exfiltrate roughly 2.5 GB of customer files. The leaked data includes full names, home addresses, dates of birth and...
Cash App Adds Payment Links so You Can Get Paid in a DM
Cash App, the Block‑owned peer‑to‑peer platform, rolled out a new payment‑link feature that lets users generate a URL to request money. The link can be pasted into texts, emails, or direct messages, pre‑loading the requested amount for the recipient. Cash...
NBA Star Giannis Antetokounmpo Joins Kalshi as an Investor
NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo announced he has become a shareholder in prediction‑market platform Kalshi, marking the first direct investment by an NBA player in the company. The deal complies with the NBA’s collective‑bargaining agreement, which allows players to hold up...
‘Industry’ Season 4 Captures Tech Fraud Better than Any Show on TV Right Now
HBO’s fourth season of “Industry” centers on a fintech fraud plot involving Tender, a payment‑processing platform for adult content whose revenues are entirely fabricated. Protagonist Harper Stern leads a short‑selling attack after a tip, sending a team to Ghana that...
Fintech CEO and Forbes 30 Under 30 Alum Has Been Charged for Alleged Fraud
Fintech founder Gökçe Güven, a 26‑year‑old Forbes 30 Under 30 alum, was indicted on federal charges including securities fraud, wire fraud, visa fraud, and aggravated identity theft. The DOJ alleges she misled investors during Kalder's April 2024 seed round, inflating...
Flutterwave Buys Nigeria’s Mono in Rare African Fintech Exit
Flutterwave has acquired Nigeria’s open‑banking startup Mono in an all‑stock transaction valued between $25 million and $40 million. Mono’s APIs, which have linked over 8 million bank accounts and supplied 100 billion data points, will remain an independent product under Flutterwave’s umbrella. The deal...
Even as Global Crop Prices Fall, India’s Arya.ag Is Attracting Investors — and Staying Profitable
Indian agritech Arya.ag raised an $81 million Series D round and remains profitable despite falling global crop prices. The company stores about $3 billion of grain annually, serves 850‑900 k farmers across 60% of districts, and keeps non‑performing assets below 0.5%. Revenue reached ₹4.5 billion...
These 21-Year-Old Dropouts Raised $2M to Build Givefront, a Fintech for Nonprofits
Givefront, a Y Combinator‑backed fintech built for U.S. nonprofits, was founded by 21‑year‑old Harvard dropout Matt Tengtrakool and UC Berkeley’s Aidan Sunbury. The startup raised a $2 million seed round led by Script Capital to expand its card‑based spend‑management platform. By focusing on...
Monzo Board Reportedly Pushed Out CEO Anil over IPO Timing
Monzo’s board asked chief executive TS Anil to step down amid a dispute over the timing of the bank’s initial public offering. Anil favored an earlier IPO and hinted at leaving post‑listing, while directors wanted more time to expand internationally...