Fintech Segments

Two payments deals account for $18.8 billion of the $21.4 billion of investment seen in H1’24

The payments space attracted $21.4 billion in investment in H1’24, falling just shy of the $22.7 billion of investment seen in the space during all of 2023. The overarching number does not tell the full story, however; two deals in the Americas accounted for $18.8 billion of this total, including GTCR’s $12.5 billion buyout of a majority stake in US-based payments processing firm Worldpay and the $6.3 billion take private deal of Canada-based Nuvei by PE firm Advent International. Outside of these two significant outlier deals, total global investment in the payments space was incredibly subdued. Deal volume was also very soft, with just 231 payments deals seen globally in H1’24—well behind even 2023’s pace, which saw a six-year low of 570 deals during the year.

Insurtech funding falls to lowest level in a decade

Investment in insurtech dried up significantly in H1’24, with just $1.6 billion in investment globally—less than a quarter of the $8.2 billion seen during 2023. The US continued to attract the vast majority of insurtech deals and funding globally, including the $427 million acquisition of cyber-insurance company Corvus by Travellers, the $151 million VC raise by direct-to-consumer insurance company Kin, and the $80 million raise by embedded insurance provider Cover Genius. An $80 million VC raise by India-based real-time underwriting company Perfios was the largest insurtech deal in the ASPAC region during H1’24, while a $73 million raise by UK-based pricing decision intelligence firm Hyperexponential claimed the top spot in the EMEA region.

Global investment in regtech strengthens in H1’24

Regtech attracted $5.3 billion in investment during H1’24, making it the second most attractive sector of fintech investment after payments. The $4 billion buyout of UK-based IRIS Software Group by Leonard Green accounted for the vast majority of this investment, followed by the $235 million buyout of US-based Sayari by TPG, and the $109 million buyout of Ireland-based SoftCo by Keensight Capital. The regtech space also saw two $100 million+ funding rounds during H1’24—a $104 million raise by Germany-based Solaris and a $100 million raise by Netherlands-based DataSnipper. The largest regtech deal in the ASPAC region was a $32.8 million raise by Australia-based Constantinople.

Wealthtech investment off to a quiet start in H1’24; interest in AI-enablement rises

Total investment in wealthtech was very subdued in H1’24, with only marginal levels of investment seen globally. The VC market in the US saw a $63.8 million raise by investment management company Edward Jones, but otherwise investors in the wealthtech space held back from making major deals in H1’24, or focused on internal innovation activities.

Cybersecurity deals volume remains strong globally in H1’24, despite slightly soft investment

Global investment in cybersecurity was somewhat softer in H1’24, with $640 million in investment—slightly less than half of the $1.4 billion seen during 2023. The number of cybersecurity deals (40), however, was quite strong—on pace to match the second best year for cybersecurity deal volume ever. The vast majority of cybersecurity deals occurred in the US during H1’24, led by the $235 million buyout of supply chain risk intelligence platform Sayari by TPG, and $100 million VC raises by AI-investment accounting platform FundGuard and stake validation marketplace EigenLayer.

Investment in crypto and blockchain stabilizing; deal volume up

After faltering significantly in 2023, global investment in crypto and blockchain stabilized quite a bit in H1’24, accounting for $3.2 billion in investment globally. Large megadeals remained illusive compared to historical trends, with only five deals over $100 million – all in the VC space; UK-based Revolut raised $139 million, while Hong Kong-based Hashkey Group, US-based Berachain, UK-based MAR mining, and US-based EigenLayer each raised $100 million. While deal sizes in the crypto and blockchain space were relatively small, deal volume remained good, with 677 deals completed during H1’24—well on pace to exceed the number of deals seen last year by a solid margin.