Thanks to the ongoing effects of last year’s market turmoil, the valuations of fintech companies across all sectors have declined dramatically since their heyday in early 2022. But even as those figures have remained subdued, there have been encouraging signs from another critical metric: funding.
According to a recent study by Axios, the first quarter of 2023 featured $17 billion in funds raised by fintechs, the first increase in venture capital funding in three quarters. A particular standout in this trend is Stripe, the digital payments giant that was able to ride a $6.5 billion fundraise last March to a $50 billion valuation.
“Over the last 12 years, current and former Stripes have helped build foundational economic infrastructure for millions of businesses around the world,” said the company’s Co-Founder and President, John Collison, in a press release. He was quick to clarify that for all its historic importance, Stripe’s best days are still to come: “The internet economy is still young, and the opportunities of the next 12 years will dwarf those of the recent past. There’s so much to discover and to create. For us, it’s now back to work.”
