Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech! This week we’re looking at One Zero potentially raising $100 million, Apple Pay expanding support for loan options, and another way Stripe is making crypto a big priority for its business.
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The big story
One Zero, a fintech startup with a lofty goal to “bring private banking to the masses,” is in the process of raising at least $100 million, TechCrunch has learned.
Founded by Mobileye CEO Amnon Shashua, One Zero has not had as much attention outside of its home market of Israel, but the company has raised around $242 million so far. According to PitchBook data, the company was valued at $320 million in 2023 — and our sources say that the valuation will be significantly higher in the next round. While it’s unclear who is investing, previous backers include Tencent, OurCrowd, and SBI Ventures.
Analysis of the week
Apple Pay is celebrating its 10th birthday with easier ways to pay later. In addition to support for loan options from Affirm in the U.S. and Monzo Flex in the U.K., the company shared that support for Klarna will go live in those countries, with expanded loan options to come. The changes follow Apple’s decision to roll back plans for its own “buy now, pay later” service, Apple Pay Later.
There are a lot of tech tools for small businesses to choose from in order to make smart decisions, but Uprise is looking to simplify it all. The startup serves as a financial adviser for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) by embedding itself into financial service products they already use and give companies recommendations of what they should do.
Indian stock trading and mutual fund startup Groww recently paid $159.4 million in taxes as it shifted its home base from the U.S. back to India. Nearly a dozen Indian startups are in the process of relocating their headquarters to better comply with Indian laws and facilitate IPOs in the country.
Dollars and cents
Stripe is in talks to acquire stablecoin platform Bridge for a whopping $1 billion, according to Forbes, as Stripe continues to make crypto a big priority for the company. The talks are reportedly in advanced stages, although nothing has been finalized.
French cyber insurance startup Stoïk raised a €25 million Series B round (around $27 million at current exchange rates). Stoïk’s cybersecurity insurance product is specifically designed for SMBs, with the company focusing exclusively on selling its product to European countries rather than U.S.-based ones.
High-interest headlines 🗞
Interface.ai raises $30M to help banks field customer requests
India’s central bank orders Sachin Bansal’s Navi to halt loans
Concourse is building AI to automate financial tasks
Rerail is a new fintech-focused angel fund from Cocoa’s Anthony Danon