BlackFin Tech Weekly — February 24th, 2025
Every Monday, we publish a short digest which sums up last week’s Fintech activity.
Hello FinTech Friends,
Welcome to another week of fintech insights. Let’s explore the news and trends shaping the industry!
Over the last week, there were 5 fintech deals in Europe, raising a total of €71 million, 3 deals in France, as well as 1 deal in Germany and the Netherlands each.
Congratulations to the top 3 fund raising companies:
73 Strings, a valuation platform focused on private assets and serving large financial institutions, has raised €51m in Series B led by Goldman Sachs, with participation from Blackstone, Golub Capital, Hamilton Lane, Broadhaven Ventures
Stacks, a software helping companies close their books quickly and efficiently thanks to its AI workspace, has raised a total of €10m, consisting of a €3m pre-Seed round led by EQT Ventures, and a fast-tracked €7m Seed round led by General Catalyst, with EQT Ventures doubling down on their investment. s16vc and several angels also participated in the round.
Wavo, who provide inventory financing for very small businesses, has raised €4m in Seed from Clint Capital, Kima Ventures, HUB612 and angels.
Let’s dive in
73 Strings, a SaaS tool used by large financial institutions to value their private assets, has raised €51m in Series B led by Goldman Sachs, with participation from Blackstone, Golub Capital, Hamilton Lane, Broadhaven Ventures. 73 Strings leverages AI to streamline middle-office operations for alternative investments, providing seamless data extraction, structuring, standardization, monitoring, and fair value estimation at the click of a button. 73 Strings serves a global client base across Private Equity, Growth Equity, Venture Capital, Infrastructure, and Private Credit, supporting firms managing over USD 9 trillion in combined assets, with headquarters in Paris and offices in New York, London, Toronto, Bengaluru, and Riyadh. This support and investment will accelerate 73 Strings’ product development, enabling industry-first solutions that revolutionize how private capital firms unlock intelligence, enhance valuations, and optimize decision-making.
Stacks, a software helping companies close their books quickly and efficiently thanks to their AI-powered workspace, has raised a total of €10m, consisting of a €3m pre-Seed round led by EQT Ventures, and a fast-tracked €7m Seed round led by General Catalyst, with EQT Ventures doubling down on their investment. s16vc and several angels also participated in the round. Stacks integrates with ERP systems and key data sources to enable fast deployment without costly migrations, offering AI-powered transaction matching, data ingestion, and compliance workflows that enhance efficiency, reduce risk, and support finance teams with AI-driven automation. Current customers are real-time payments provider Volt, AI-assistant for personal finances Cleo, business banking provider Juni, and the low-code application development platform Genesis.
Wavo, who provide inventory financing for very small businesses, has raised €4m in Seed from Clint Capital, Kima Ventures, HUB612 and angels. Wavo offers zero-debt inventory financing for SMEs, enabling them to unlock cash flow and grow without financial limitations. They fully cover a company's inventory costs, including VAT, while allowing businesses to retain possession and track stock in real-time, with flexible, sales-based repayments and no impact on debt capacity. The funds raised will strengthen Wavo's scoring system and expand its financing capacity, enabling higher limits of up to €500,000 and support for a broader range of products.
In addition to this week’s fundraising activity, here is the European M&A activity of the week:
Shift4, a leader in payment processing and integrated commerce solutions, has announced the acquisition of Global Blue, a renowned provider of tax-free shopping and retail technology. The transaction, valued at US $2.5bn, underscores Shift4’s strategic expansion into new international markets. Global Blue has transformed the retail and tourism landscape by empowering international travelers and retailers with cutting‐edge VAT refund services and digital commerce solutions. This acquisition aims to enhance Shift4’s platform by integrating Global Blue’s pioneering technology, delivering a unified solution that streamlines cross-border commerce and enriches customer experiences, while the Global Blue brand will be integrated into Shift4’s global commerce offerings and any legacy operations are expected to be rebranded to reflect Shift4’s focus on digital innovation.
G2 Risk Solutions (G2RS), a leading provider of risk management and compliance solutions, has announced the acquisition of ZignSec AB, a Swedish company specializing in identity verification technology. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. ZignSec AB has strengthened the compliance landscape through its subsidiaries, Web Shield, a merchant due diligence leader, and Wyzer, a business process automation specialist. This acquisition aims to enhance G2RS’s risk and compliance suite by integrating ZignSec’s innovative technology, offering a unified platform that streamlines regulatory compliance for businesses worldwide. Following the acquisition, the combined entity will expand its global presence across key markets, including the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, reinforcing its position as a comprehensive provider of risk management solutions in an increasingly interconnected regulatory environment.
And finally, we bring you 4 news stories that caught our eye last week:
Fintech Varo has secured $29 million in a Series G round. The company has raised over $1 billion in funding since its inception in 2015. Despite raising over $1 billion since its inception in 2015, Varo's latest Series G round fell short of its $55 million target, securing only $29 million to date, indicating ongoing challenges in the company's fundraising efforts. Varo, the first all-digital nationally chartered U.S. consumer bank, is still not profitable. It reported a loss of nearly $65 million in a December 2024 call report.
Two, a European B2B payments technology leader, has partnered with Avarda, a northern European white label payments specialist, to launch an integrated white label payment solution for both B2B and B2C in the Nordic e-commerce market. The partnership aims to streamline payment processes by combining Two's Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) expertise for B2B with Avarda's B2C payment capabilities, allowing businesses to offer both options in a single, branded checkout experience.
eToro's EU subsidiary has been granted a MiCA permit by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), allowing it to offer crypto services across the European Union. This makes eToro one of the first companies to receive such authorization under the new Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation. eToro welcomes MiCA's regulatory framework, viewing it as a positive step for the crypto industry in Europe. The company believes this clarity will encourage wider crypto adoption while ensuring consumers are aware of potential risks. eToro emphasizes its commitment to regulatory compliance and consumer protection.
On February 21, 2025, cryptocurrency exchange Bybit was hacked, resulting in the theft of approximately $1.5 billion worth of Ethereum from its cold wallet. This incident is considered the largest cryptocurrency heist in history, surpassing previous thefts in the sector. The breach occurred during a routine transfer from a cold wallet to a warm wallet, where hackers manipulated the transaction by altering the smart contract logic and masking the signing interface. This allowed unauthorized access to the wallet, leading to the transfer of 401,347 ETH to an unidentified address.
Have a great start into the week!
Sources of the fundraising reports