H1 2022 FINTECH WRAP-UP 🌯
Discover Fintech Wrap-Up, a newsletter about all things Fintech & Insurtech in Europe, by BlackFin Tech.
Welcome BlackFin Tech readers!
After a roller coaster first semester, we thought a little wrap-up could be useful before taking off for a well-deserved summer break!
While 2021 set a record high in terms of fundraising, the first weeks of the year could have let us think that 2022 would be an even stronger vintage for European fintechs. However, from the end of Q1, a harsh combination of events (the war in Ukraine, the rise of interest rates, the correction of public tech companies, and the return of inflation) put an end to these blooming times.
In this context, resilience is the most valuable characteristic for entrepreneurs. The startup ecosystem shifted from a world where you had to grow no matter what to a world which favors operational efficiency. Bringing a tangible value add to customers with a positive impact on society while sustaining excellent unit economics has become way more important than growing at all costs.
Boring B2B companies and disciplined investment strategies are back to the spotlight!
Plus, in addition to organic growth, value creation will also result from consolidation, mergers, and acquisitions. It is a skill that the best entrepreneurs will leverage in the coming months.
On a more positive note, venture firms still have plenty of dry powder to invest in the coming years. After a ‘wait-and-see’ attitude that can last several quarters, things will go back to normal - and so will fundraisings.
Outstanding entrepreneurs and companies stand out in difficult times: improve your unit economics, acquire the competitors who will not move as fast as you do, and the market will be yours!
📊 WHAT SHAPED EUROPEAN FINTECH IN H1 2022
So first… what happened for European Fintech in the first semester of this rather chaotic year?
361 fintech raised money in H1 2022, equaling a total amount of €11.2bn
It’s slightly more than last year, with 333 fintech raising €11bn in H1 2021 and 324 raising €10.7 in H2
Average deal size is €33m, while median deal size equals €8.4m
In comparison, average deal size was €36.1m in H1 2021 and median deal size was €6.9m
Without much surprise, UK still leads the fintech movement, with 123 UK fintech raising money in the first semester. It’s almost twice as much as France, which overtakes Germany this semester. Then come Switzerland and Sweden, with respectively 16 and 15 deals.
Sectorwise, banktech, payment fintech and investment banking are concentrating most deals, both in terms of volumes and raised amounts.
What are the first semester 10 biggest rounds?
Below are the 10 fintech you should remember from H1 2022.
Together, they raised €3.5bn - it’s less than last year, when the top 10 rounds of the semester exceeded €5bn.
Except for Checkout.com’s huge Series D, all other fintech from the top 10 raised deals between €200m and €500m. 6 of them belong to banktech, whereas 3 are payment fintech and one is a investment banking application - which reflects this semester’s general trends. In terms of geography, UK leads the top 10 with 6 deals, followed by France and Germany.
🍳 WHAT WE SHAPED AT BLACKFIN TECH
The fact that we didn’t announce any new investment during the first semester doesn’t mean nothing happened. In fact… we have a big announcement to make!✨
Portfolio news
In January, 3 startups of our portfolio started the year by closing ambitious fundraisings:
🏠 Digital mortgage broker Pretto raised a €30M Series B in order to transform mortgage into a simpler, fairer and more accessible process. Go Pretto!
🇪🇪 Tuum (FKA Modularbank) closed a €15M Series A to become the technological backbone of any financial business. What a great MomenTuum!
☔ On its way to become a category leader in corporate insurance worldwide, parametric Insurance champion Descartes Underwriting raised a $120m Series B. René would be proud!
In May-June, our German wholesale broker of financial lines Finlex made the news:
🥨 It acquired Erichsen, the leading wholesale broker for cyberinsurance products;
🇫🇷 French Pascal Ouvrard was hired as new Director Strategy Europe.
2 great milestones to become the largest cyberinsurance ecosystem in continental Europe!
🇪🇪 Meet Tuum’s new CEO Sergei Anikin, who joined from Pipedrive where he was CTO and co-CEO - steering the company from 25 employees to over 900 worldwide.
Team news
🇬🇧 In H1 2022, we opened a new office in London - if you are in London, make sure to ping Régis or Loïc!
✨ We are delighted to announce the closing of Tech 2, our second €350m fund. With this new fund, we want to double down on our strategy to back and develop the most promising B2B fintechs and insurtechs across Europe.
📚 SHAPING OUR MINDS
Here is a list of articles we found particularly useful to deepen our understanding of the past semester:
🍼 The last newcomer in BNPL: Apple sidelines Goldman Sachs and goes in-house for its lending service Apple Pay Later
🏛️ A European Nasdaq? Euronext wants to create a European-style Nasdaq index with ‘Tech Leaders’
🦄 Unicorns are dead, long live centaurs! As the 13-year-old bull market comes to an end, it might be a good time to focus on companies with more than $100m in ARR: centaurs.
💸 “Debt to sell” - As the Russia invasion of Ukraine started, Banks have been unsuccessfully seeking to sell a large portion of debt
🐅 The collapse of a VC giant? Tiger Global, hit by $17B in hedge fund losses, has nearly depleted its latest VC fund
☕ LET’S MEET SOON?
If you plan to attend one of the following events, make sure to grab a coffee with a member of the team:
🇳🇱 Amsterdam Fintech Week (Sept. 9-16) —> meet Pauline
🇩🇪 Bits & Pretzels (Sept. 25-27) —> meet Romain
🇩🇰 Nordic Fintech Week (Sept. 27-28) —> meet Michele
🇮🇹 Milan Fintech Summit (Oct. 5-7) —> meet Michele
🇫🇷 French Fintech Week (Oct. 14-21) —> meet Gabrielle, Julien & Jean
🇵🇹 Web Summit (Nov. 1-4) —> meet Gabrielle & Pauline
Have a nice summer, and see you soon!
