Hey fintech friends,

After a slow start to the year, fintech funding is starting to pick up steam again. Certain concepts– including artificial intelligence, alternative investments, and x-border stablecoin payments– have also dominated headlines in recent months. It feels like the perfect time to dive into fintech activity in Q2!

For new readers, Signals is the premium subscriber edition of TWIF designed to get you away from the headlines and to explore the larger trendlines. Each quarter, we break down four key questions on fintech activity:

1. Which concepts are getting funded? 
2. Where are exits, M&A, and SPACs concentrated? 
3. Which firms are raising debt and venture funds for fintech? 
4. Which products were launched over the last quarter? 

If you haven’t already, subscribe to future editions here!

Overall activity

Fintechs raised a total of $8.383 billion in Q2, up 56% from the prior quarter and up 70% Year-over-Year. The number of rounds raised was up 7% QoQ (⬆️18% YoY), and the average size of each raise grew 47% QoQ (⬆️47% YoY).

For the first time in over a year, total funding increased for Series A through later-stage rounds, which is consistent with an uptick in late-stage funding in the broader venture ecosystem. Much of the capital that fintechs amassed in Q2 came from mega-rounds (+$10M)– notably, Abound’s £800M debt+equity raise, Stripe’s $694M employee secondary (which vaulted Stripe to a $65B valuation) and AlphaSense’s $650M Series F.

Total investment in Pre-Seed and Seed-stage rounds was also fairly consistent quarter-over-quarter.

Which concepts are getting funded? 🤑

Areas that received the most funding were: