Grifin Secures $11M to Make Investing Less Intimidating

👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT

• Grifin secures $11M to make investing less intimidating.

Grifin, an investment app that simplifies investing by automatically purchasing stocks in brands where users regularly shop, announced on Wednesday that it has secured an $11 million Series A funding round, bringing the total amount raised to around $22 million.

Alongside the announcement, Grifin also revealed it has surpassed 500,000 registered users, indicating that its approach to investing resonates with a lot of users. Grifin also claims approximately 1 million total app downloads and 100,000 monthly active users. The company declined to share its valuation.

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🤝 M&As

BPCE to buy Lone Star’s Novo Banco in €6.4 billion deal. The transaction is expected to close during the first half of 2026. “The decision by the majority shareholder to pursue a direct sale to BPCE represents a clear strategic opportunity, positioning Novo Banco to join one of Europe’s strongest financial groups,” the Portuguese lender said.

LemFi buys Pillar to expand credit services to immigrants. The company plans to offer Credit Cards to customers, starting with the UK, and roll out the full suite of LemFi Credit features publicly. LemFi secures access to Pillar's proprietary credit scoring technology, its FCA credit licence, and Bhatt and Lewis.

Centric takes majority stake in Dutch FinTech Twelve. This strategic move marks a significant milestone for both organizations, combining deep market expertise and a shared vision for the future of retail technology. Centric will support founder and newly appointed CEO Willem van Kralingen in strengthening Twelve’s service offering and accelerating its European growth strategy.

FinTech unicorn Tipalti acquires Statement for $35-45M to expand real-time cash flow management. The all-Israeli deal, signed amid the war with Iran, aims to enhance Tipalti’s capabilities in the financial management space. Keep reading

NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS

🎉 NOTABLE FUNDING ROUNDS

⭐️ FinTech Salmon raises $88m, partly via Nordic bond facility.

⭐️ Amartha raises $55M to support rural women entrepreneurs in Indonesia.

⭐️ Razorpay picks up majority stake in Pop for $30 million.

⭐️ Octane secures $5.2 million to transform fleet payments across MENA.

🌎 REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

UK 🇬🇧

Crypto software company OneBalance raises $20 million from Cyber Fund and Blockchain Capital. The company will use the money raised in this round to expand the capabilities of its flagship product by integrating functionality for additional blockchains.

Pryme to raise £30m to power financial tools for Africa’s freelancers and SMEs. The goal is to scale a platform that has outgrown its e-commerce beginnings and morphed into what Pryme describes as a financial operating system for modern businesses.

UBS invests in UK FinTech Icon Solutions to shape the future of payments technology. The collaboration helps UBS drive innovation at scale and enhances its capabilities for seamless instant payments and advanced transaction processing. Continue reading

EUROPE 🇪🇺

Enterprise WealthTech XFOLIO lands $2M seed funding. The newly secured capital will support the company’s go-to-market strategy and fund the development of AI-powered recommendation tools and cross-bank trading features. The platform is designed to help automate and visualize bankable and non-bankable assets.

German FinTech NaroIQ raises $6.5m seed round to establish European fund infrastructure. The fresh capital will be invested specifically in technical development and regulatory licensing. NaroIQ plans to launch its first partner integrations as a key milestone this year.

Swedish FinTech startup Polar raises €8.6 million for its monetisation platform. The funds will be used to expand its remote-first team across Europe and invest in growth, developer relations, and strategic partnerships throughout the payments ecosystem.

USA 🇺🇸

GrailPay raises $6.7 million for remedial ACH platform. The company will use the funds to grow its product and engineering teams, expand go-to-market efforts, and bring new capabilities to its risk models. Read more

Ramp hits $16 billion following a $200 million valuation in a new funding round. The deal represents significant growth for Ramp. The company was valued at $13 billion in a secondary share sale earlier this year. The company offers corporate cards and other financial tools to businesses.

Juniper Square announces Series D financing round at $1.1 billion valuation. Juniper Square will use the capital to accelerate investment in JunieAI, the first enterprise-grade AI built specifically for the needs of private markets GPs. Read more

Thiel-Backed fund invests in Ex-Citi Banker’s stablecoin startup. Ubyx is building a clearing system for connecting stablecoin issuers with banks and FinTechs, aiming to reduce friction for users seeking to use the crypto tokens for payments. Read more

Payabli lands $28M Series B to accelerate payments infrastructure innovation for software companies. The new funding will accelerate Payabli's product development, with a targeted focus on AI-driven features designed to deliver personalized experiences for customers.

Tensec raises $12m to become Stripe for global trade. Tensec wants to provide global trading companies and their clients access to cross-border real-time payments and transaction banking services that have historically been available only through large financial institutions.

ASIA

FinTech startup Zype secures debt. The proceeds of this debt funding will be used to augment the long-term working capital needs of the company, the filing added. The FinTech platform last raised funds in December 2022, securing Rs 146 crore (approximately $17.7 million) from its existing investor, Xponentia Capital.

Sequoia, Greylock, and Nik Storonsky’s QuantumLight invest $90M into FinTech for overseas diasporas. There are plans to launch an interest-incurring multi-currency account, which will take advantage of an Indian government subsidy on foreign currency accounts held in the country, and to launch a full-stack Indian bank account for NRIs.

SaturnX raises $3m to bring stablecoin-based payment infrastructure to global remittance markets. The capital will be used to accelerate SaturnX's expansion into new payment corridors in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, strengthen regulatory infrastructure, and continue building its end-to-end API platform for enterprise-grade stablecoin payments.

Saswat nets $2.6 mn for financial offerings to micro enterprises. The startup plans to use the capital to strengthen its tech stack, introduce new financial products, and scale operations. Read more

FinTech NBFC Techfino raises Rs 65 cr from Stellaris and Saison Capital to double down on secured MSME lending. The funding will be used to double Techfino’s branch network from 30 to 60 branches in the next 12 months, expand its team, and strengthen its proprietary technology platform built to assess credit risk in Bharat’s semi-urban corridors.

AFRICA

Nigerian agri-FinTech Winich Farms secures Pre-Series A funding. With this new capital, Winich plans to strengthen its operations, empower more farmers, and explore expansion opportunities both across Africa and into the MENA region. Read more