Fintech Decoded a Special Edition Report Tracking Investment Activity in Fintech Companies 2020 CONTENTS
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Fintech Decoded A special edition report tracking investment activity in fintech companies 2020 CONTENTS 01 GLOBAL – Fintech sector registers record number of deals in 2020; overall funding contracts – VC investors bullish on fintech: 2020 best year for VC funding – Consistent increase in late-stage funding; angel funding at all-time high 02 AMERICAS – North American fintech space witnesses new capital investment records in 2020 – Payments remains most attractive sector – Increased retail trading during pandemic attracts investor dollars for Financial Markets focused fintech companies 03 EUROPE – Fintech funding in Europe continues fast growth trajectory in 2020 – Explosive growth continues in angel/seed and late-stage funding – Payments remain most promising vertical in Europe; previous highs surpass in 2020 04 ASIA – 2020: VC funding in Asia fails to catch up to previous levels – Despite a slowdown in capital invested, 2020 deal volumes for Payments and Busines Solutions surpass last three-year numbers Executive Summary Mirroring 2019’s trend, VC deal activity in the fintech space continued in an upward trajectory in terms of Welcome to the fifth edition of Aranca’s both volume and value, with $33.8B being invested in 1,506 deals globally. VC investors did not resist Fintech Decoded report, a publication pouring money in this space despite an unprecedented crisis that was expected to shake investor where we highlight the major VC funding confidence. trends of 2020 within the broader fintech The Payments segment continues to receive the major share of investments in the fintech space, further universe across key markets. accentuated by the recent changes in consumer trends. Additionally, many payment companies are transitioning to provide full-blown financial services, increasing their user base and revenue. The VC fintech funding reached new highs in Payments segment also accounted for the highest number of big-ticket deals with about 35 mega deals 2020, despite the funding freeze that (>$100M) from the 75 mega deals in 2020. For instance, this funding frenzy enabled Klarna, a Swedish market participants anticipated due to the payments company, to become Europe’s biggest VC-funded fintech unicorn, which is valued at $10.7B. pandemic outbreak. Mega deals are on the rise as established companies with proven Another segment that benefitted from the funding traction was Financial Markets. With the increase in retail and institutional investment and trading in the current volatile markets, companies such as unit economics and growth plans attract Robinhood with 13 million+ users bagged significant investor funding. investor attention. In this report, we highlight some trends, based on deal Despite numerous lockdowns and uncertainty affecting businesses, North America and Europe exceeded activity in 2020 and the outlook for various expectations and outperformed in terms of total fintech funding in 2020 by breaking previous annual records. On the other hand, the Asian fintech space failed to pick up pace to exceed last year’s invested fintech verticals. capital. We hope you find this an interesting and Many fintech companies are focused on responding to the current uncertainty by implementing cost- insightful read. effective measures. Their ability to swiftly and innovatively leverage their unique technology platforms will be crucial at this time; these efforts will be reflected in the upcoming quarters. In 2020, investment in fintech companies globally clocked $90.7B across 1,654 deals Fintech Fintech sector registers record number of deals in 2020; overall funding contracts Global VC, PE, MA deal landscape in fintech companies January 01, 2014 – December 31, 2020 Currency in $, unless otherwise specified The Fintech sector stood resilient and 160.0 1,650 1,800 strong in 2020, registering a 28% jump in 1,568 1,654 deal volume in the challenging year. 1,600 140.0 1,290 1,442 1,414 14.0 However, this jump in deal activity was 1,400 120.0 accompanied by a 33% decline in deal 1,153 1,200 value, a clear indication that even thriving 100.0 42.5 sectors such as Fintech, which have been 1,000 80.0 14.3 at the forefront of enabling ease of life, 800 could not completely escape the heat of 60.0 125.8 600 the pandemic. 94.1 92.7 40.0 75.7 70.0 76.4 400 Majority of funding contraction was seen in 56.8 the M&A space as corporations faced 20.0 200 budget cuts for strategic acquistions. - - However, the Fintech VC funding space 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 registered another record-setting year. Capital Invested ($B) Capital Invested 2020 ($B) Deal Count Deal Count 2020 Ant Financial ($B) Worldpay ($B) HengFeng Bank ($B) Data Source: Pitch Book, unless specified otherwise Note: Please refer to the Methodology section at the end of the report to understand the fintech universe and its constituents as defined from the perspective of this report. In 2020, VC funding in fintech companies globally clocked $33.8B across 1,506 deals Fintech VC investors bullish on fintech: 2020 best year for VC funding VC funding deal activity rose 30% both in Global VC funding in fintech companies terms of volume and value in 2020. After a January 01, 2014 – December 31, 2020 consistent increase in deal volume for four Currency in $, unless otherwise specified consecutive quarters, the deal activity sharply declined in 4Q-2020. 389 458 367 387 345 339 354 326 324 323 317 323 322 312 307 284 296 298 284 298 302 277 286 283 Consistent with the trends in the last two 260 253 246 232 14 years, the number of mega deals (>$100M) continued to rise. There were 75 9.0 10.6 8.7 8.5 6.6 8.2 7.0 7.0 7.2 4.6 4.4 4.5 5.1 4.3 6.1 5.8 5.9 5.0 4.9 6.1 2.1 2.1 1.6 3.0 2.7 2.9 3.1 3.2 mega deals in 2020 worth $18.0B, yet Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 again setting a record in 2020. 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Capital Invested ($B) Ant Financials Deal Count 2020 led to the establishment of a “new 6.1 normal.” Fintech firms from start-ups to 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.1 4.7 4.8 4.7 4.7 unicorns banked on this opportunity. Neo 4.3 3.5 3.4 3.2 3.0 banks and digital banks with complete 2.5 2.5 2.1 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.1 1.8 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.1 online presence, Payment companies 1.6 1.3 promoting cashless payments, and online brokerage and trading platforms Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 encouraging retail investors outperformed expectations. VC investors identified the Median Deal Size ($M) potential in these sectors and placed their Data Source: Pitch Book, unless specified otherwise bets on such fintech firms. Note: Please refer to the Methodology section at the end of the report to understand the fintech universe and its constituents as defined from the perspective of this report. Consistent increase in late-stage funding; angel funding at all-time high Global VC funding in fintech companies January 01, 2014 – December 31, 2020 Currency in $, unless otherwise specified Late-stage deal activity remains robust as Angel/Seed Early Stage VC Later Stage VC the number of mega deals (>$100M) 30.0 12.0 2.0 1.8 continue to rise. Excluding the Ant 25.0 10.0 1.6 Financial outlier deal in 2018, 2020 was a 1.4 20.0 8.0 14 1.2 record year in terms of value as well as 15.0 6.0 1.0 1.9 25.1 0.8 10.0 9.3 volume for late-stage VC funding. After a 1.5 10.0 4.0 8.0 0.6 7.6 1.2 1.1 6.8 16.1 1.0 1.0 5.5 steep fall in 2019, funding in the 0.4 12.3 5.0 11.6 11.8 0.8 2.0 9.5 3.1 0.2 4.9 angel/seed stage reached an all-time high 0.0 0.0 - 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 in 2020. Meanwhile, early-stage VC funding slowed down in 2020. 700 700 632 500 572 556 560 450 441 600 529 600 505 573 In light of the pandemic, this trend of 494 400 486 464 467 500 500 402 492 350 growth in late-stage funding suggests that 357 254 300 251 400 400 235 250 184 190 investors are either parking their money in 300 300 200 148 150 established and mature start-ups that have 200 200 100 100 100 a clear growth trajectory and profitability 50 0 0 0 plan in place or in innovative very early- 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 stage companies with promising disruptive Capital Invested ($B) Capital Invested 2020 ($B) Deal Count Deal Count 2020 Ant Financial ($B) offerings. Data Source: Pitch Book, unless specified otherwise Note: Please refer to the Methodology section at the end of the report to understand the fintech universe and its constituents as defined from the perspective of this report.