August 2024: Top five fintech funding rounds of the month
Despite varying market conditions, firms worldwide have secured funding at different scales this month, from fintech unicorns to digital lenders.
Here, we run through five of the top funding stories of the month, featuring Bilt Rewards, Stori, Pay Zen, DMI Finance, and more.
Bilt Rewards elevates valuation to $3.25bn with new $150m investment
Bilt secures new $150 million investment
Bilt Rewards, a New York-based loyalty fintech, has secured an additional $150 million in funding just over seven months after it raised $200 million.
This latest cash injection values the firm at $3.25 billion, rising from the $3.1 billion measured during its former raise in January.
Launched in 2022, Bilt provides a Mastercard-issued credit card and loyalty programme, claiming to be the “first-ever” that enables renters to earn points on rent and build “a path towards homeownership”.
Bilt says that the funding will be utilised to enhance its product offerings, including the addition of mortgage payments later this year, and fuel the expansion of its loyalty programme nationwide.
Mexico’s Stori lands $212m in mix of equity and debt financing
Stori, a Mexican fintech unicorn, has secured a new $212 million investment in a combination of equity and debt financing to fuel product innovation.
The round includes $105 million in equity, led by California-based Notable Capital and China’s BAI Capital, with participation from General Catalyst, Goodwater, Tresalia Capital, GIC, Lightspeed Ventures and ACE Redpoint Ventures.
Meanwhile, the $107 million debt portion was spearheaded by Goldman Sachs and Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Marlene Garayzar, Stori’s co-founder and chief governance officer, hinted that the firm intends to leverage the equity to upgrade its tech and expand its product suite, with the potential for deposits and personal loans, while the debt segment will be allocated for lending.
PayZen lands $32m equity investment and $200m credit warehouse in Series B round
PayZen raises $232m to fuel expansion efforts
US-based healthcare-focused fintech PayZen has secured $32 million in equity and a new $200 million credit warehouse in an oversubscribed Series B round.
The equity funding was led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and featured the “full participation of existing investors” 7wireVentures, SignalFire and Viola Group’s Viola Ventures, among others.
Viola Group also leveraged its alternative credit asset manager, Viola Credit, to deliver the credit warehouse, which received additional support from “a syndicate of insurance companies”.
“This additional credit facility will support its continued rapid growth and market expansion,” PayZen states, alongside claims of having achieved a “6x YoY growth” over the last two years with “100% customer retention and 132% net retention”.
India’s DMI Finance lands a further $334m investment from MUFG
DMI Finance, the New Delhi-based digital lending arm of India’s DMI Group, has secured a $334 million equity investment from Japanese financial services heavyweight Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group via its subsidiary, MUFG Bank.
Founded in 2008, DMI Finance is a non-banking financial company (NBFC) and acts as an embedded finance partner to growing Indian businesses, providing a range of credit solutions to corporate borrowers across the country. It currently claims to serve 25 million customers and disbursed over $2.25 billion in FY 2024.
The company’s offerings include short-term bridge financing, working capital solutions, and loans for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
MUFG previously led a $400 million equity funding round in DMI Finance back in April 2023. Its latest cash injection increases its total investment in the company to around $565 million.
CloudPay secures $120m funding round led by Blue Owl Capital
Cloudpay bags $120 million in fresh funding
CloudPay, a UK-based global payroll and payment solutions provider, has secured a $120 million funding round led by New York-based asset manager Blue Owl Capital.
Founded in 1996, CloudPay claims to connect “all employee pay processes” through a unified platform, including on-demand pay, payments services and payroll.
The company claims to serve more than 280 corporate clients across 130 countries, with a global headcount of over 1,350 employees.
CloudPay says the cash injection will enable it to enhance its customer offerings and tech solutions, with the company looking to further utilise AI to boost process automation and data management. It also plans to upgrade connectivity through a set of API solutions that link partners within its “global payroll, payment, and HCM ecosystem”.
