Fintech firms are presenting a mixed bag with their fundraising during the Covid-19 outbreak.
A trio of recent reports reveals that the Covid-19 outbreak is causing fintech funding to evaporate, but several firms have announced successful fundraising rounds in the wake of the epidemic.
According to the Q1 2020 Fintech Trends Data report from CB Insights, venture capital-backed fintech funding dropped to $6.1 billion across 404 deals in the first quarter.
CB Insights goes on to say that venture deal volume has fallen to 2016 levels, while the amount of venture capital invested in fintech firms has fallen to levels not seen since 2017. Early-stage startup funding fell to 228 deals and $1.1 billion in funding, both multi-year lows.
Europe was the only region that saw an increase in venture-backed fintech funding, as funding in Asia, Australia, North America, South America and Africa fell during the first quarter, according to CB Insights. The withering of fintech funding followed Covid-19’s spread across regions, occurring first in China and southeast Asia before moving on to other areas.
Another recent report, this one from Ana.vc, a venture capital research firm, found a 57% decline in funding to fintech and digital asset projects in April. According to that report, certain fintech sectors, like decentralized finance and blockchain/distributed ledger developers, fared better than fintech as a whole, but still generally lost funding. Payments service providers saw their fundraising decline from $9.24 million in March to $1.61 in April. Slower growing or even declining valuations typically accompany a more challenging fundraising environment.
And in April, U.S. market researcher Forrester revealed research finding that funding into U.S. fintech was 46% lower in the first quarter of 2020 than it was in the third quarter of 2019.
The lack of funding could be fatal for some nascent fintechs. A fourth report, from research, analysis and policy advisory Startup Genome in April, found that 65% of companies that have raised at least Series A funding have 6 months or less of cash on hand, and that many companies and startups are shedding employees to survive what is likely to be an ongoing period of fundraising challenges.
But as the outbreak descended upon the Western world, fintech firms continued to raise funds, some with spectacular success. Stripe ended a Series G round of fundraising in April having raised $600 million, while U.K.-based challenger bank Revolut took in $500 million in the first quarter.
There were more moderate successes to report as well. Small business messaging platform Podium successfully closed $125 million in fundraising in March, while Stash was able to close a $112 million fundraising round, and Robinhood, beleaguered by outages during the March market volatility, was able to close on a $280 million fundraising round in early May.