New record as fintech funding hit $5.4bn globally in Q1

Mega-rounds are back in fintech as 12 firms raised investments of more than US$100m each.

Fintech funding continues to rise and rise as an investment class with US$5.4bn across 323 deals was raised globally in Q1 of 2018.

According to CB Insights’ Global Fintech Report Q1 2018, global fintech activity hit a new record during the quarter.

The US saw the largest boost in deals while Europe saw fintech deal activity dip to a five-quarter low.

South America is already a region to watch as funding raised in the first quarter of 2018 of US$271m surpassed the entire funding total for 2017. Funding saw a boost from a US$150m mega-round deal for Brazilian mobile banking unicorn Nubank.

Asian fintech funding saw the largest quarterly spike in Q1 2018 on the back of four $100m-plus investments.

However, in Europe, VC-backed fintech companies saw the largest pullback in early-stage investments. Despite this, funding hit a five-quarter high in Europe, bolstered by US$100m-plus investments in digital banking start-ups N26 and Atom Bank.

Over the last five quarters, top US banks including Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and JP Morgan slowed down their fintech investments relative to the highs of 2016.

In Europe, banks were notably more active, especially Santander, which made three new portfolio investments in Q1 of 2018.

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Source: New record as fintech funding hit $5.4bn globally in Q1