Fintech

Rillet raises $25M from Sequoia to automate general ledger systems using AI

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For accounting departments, no software is more important than the general ledger system. It’s the central hub that summarizes all financial transactions, providing the essential data needed to create accurate financial statements. “The general ledger is the beating heart of the finance function, and so asking a company to remove it is a kind of […]

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Klarna used an AI avatar of its CEO to deliver earnings, it said

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Sebastian Siemiatkowski is leaning all the way into the idea that his buy-now-pay-later, IPO-bound startup Klarna is an AI company. When Klarna delivered updated quarterly earnings on Monday, it was his AI avatar (pictured above) that presented the highlights, according to the company’s YouTube video. Other than AI Siemiatkowski’s admission, it wasn’t obvious that this

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Brex partners with former competitor Zip, with an eye on reducing cash burn to get to an IPO

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Brex has once again made the surprising, but perhaps realistic, decision to partner with another one-time competitor. This time Zip, the CEOs of both companies told TechCrunch exclusively.  In April 2022, fintech Brex announced it was making “a big push” into both the enterprise and software. The news was notable considering that Brex originally was

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Monzo’s pivot from cool to corporate: ‘freshness is not about gimmicks’

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Monzo, Britain’s biggest digital bank, is still synonymous with its neon debit cards, extensive use of emojis, and free spending abroad. But it’s no longer just trying to be cool; it’s trying to become a major financial institution. That shift, from an upstart fintech beloved by millennials into a mature, sustainable business, is what makes

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Klarna’s revenue per employee soars to nearly $1 million thanks to AI efficiency push

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Last year, Klarna announced a significant initiative to leverage its internally developed AI systems, powered by OpenAI, across its operations. This wasn’t empty talk for the buy now, pay later giant. The company not only ended its pricey contract with Salesforce CRM, but also curtailed its hiring efforts, allowing AI to do some of the

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Acorns acquires family wealth and digital memory platform EarlyBird

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Savings and investing startup Acorns has acquired EarlyBird, an investment gifting platform for families, the company told TechCrunch exclusively. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. As part of the acquisition, EarlyBird will shut down, and all customer accounts will officially close on June 23. Customers’ funds will be returned to the bank

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$25B-valued Chime files for an IPO, reveals $33M deal with Dallas Mavericks

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At long last, digital consumer bank Chime has moved forward with its IPO by filing its S-1 paperwork Tuesday. Chime had reportedly filed confidential S-1 paperwork back in December. S-1 filings typically reveal all kinds of information, covering financial, legal, and other risk factors. But Chime’s S-1 documents still have a lot of blank spaces.

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Insurtech Bestow lands $120M Series D from Goldman Sachs, Smith Point Capital

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Melbourne O’Banion co-founded insurtech Bestow with Jonathan Abelmann in 2017 after struggling to secure his own life insurance policy. His goal was to make it easier for people to obtain life insurance and make the process more tech-enabled. Initially, Bestow operated as a direct-to-consumer insurance provider — selling, underwriting, and servicing life insurance policies. In

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Stripe unveils AI foundation model for payments, reveals ‘deeper partnership’ with Nvidia

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Fintech giant Stripe announced Wednesday a slew of new product launches at its annual Stripe Sessions user event. The highlights include: a new AI foundation model for payments; stablecoin-powered accounts; a new Orchestration offering, and a recent migration with chip behemoth Nvidia. Stripe’s payments foundation model has been trained on tens of billions of transactions,

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Agree.com raises $7.2M to take on Docusign, Bill.com with AI

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Agree.com says its AI-powered e-signature platform is different from competitors because it includes invoicing and payment processing. That’s why the company might have a shot at tackling the industry goliath, Docusign.  Because the startup makes its money from transaction fees for any money movement facilitated by its platform, Agree.com has made e-signatures free to all

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