Fintech startup Ramp sees 32% bump in valuation, Mercury expands into consumer banking

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Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech! This week, we’re looking at Ramp’s big raise and valuation jump, Mercury’s move into personal banking, Klarna’s new credit card, global funding rounds and more!

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The big story

Ramp, a spend management startup rivaling the likes of Brex, Navan and Airbase, told TechCrunch exclusively last week that it had raised $150 million at a post-money $7.65 billion valuation. Khosla Ventures and Founders Fund co-led the round, which represented a 31.9% bump in valuation from its August 2023 raise. It’s an impressive feat in a challenging market full of down rounds. Also, notably, Ramp is one of the few larger fintechs that hasn’t had to lay off staff. What’s driving all the investor interest in Ramp? CEO Eric Glyman believes it’s the company’s continued growth and emphasis on AI.

Analysis of the week

Business banking startup Mercury is expanding into consumer banking. The seven-year-old company today serves more than 100,000 businesses, many of which are startups, via its B2B practice. CEO and co-founder Immad Akhund tells TechCrunch that Mercury hopes to convert many of its business clients into customers, rather than go after the masses. Onyx Private, with a similar offering, recently did a reverse move, pivoting from B2C to B2B. Industry experts I talked to emphasize business and personal banking are “two different beasts,” but also, Mercury is not starting completely from scratch.

You can listen to the Equity crew discuss this week’s fintech news here:

Dollars and cents

Berlin-based embedded fintech startup finmid has raised $24.7 million in a Series A round at a $107 million post-money valuation to further build out its product and enter new markets.

Since 2015, Pula, an insurtech based in Kenya, has been keen on enhancing the access to agricultural insurance by small-holder farmers across emerging markets. So far, the insurtech has supported 15.4 million farmers in Africa, Asia and Latin America to get insured, and it is eyeing more following a $20 million Series B funding round.

Midas, a fintech startup that allows people in Turkey to invest in U.S. and Turkish equities, says it has raised $45 million in a funding round led by Portage of Canada.

Rumor has it that HR/fintech startup Rippling is raising $200 million, with another $670 million worth of shares being sold by existing stockholders.

What else we’re writing

Klarna has launched its credit card in the United States, the Swedish fintech giant told TechCrunch in an exclusive interview. With the Klarna credit card, the company is now competing with the likes of Apple and more recently, Robinhood, as well as rival BNPL player Affirm in offering a credit card in the United States.

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