Spotlight on Fintech: Leading Private Fintech Companies

Our Innovating Industries series breaks down the innovations shaping tomorrow’s economy—and the private market investment opportunities emerging with them.

From mobile payments to banking operations, financial technology (aka fintech) is increasingly embedded into our digital world. Here we break down the private fintech market, its leading sub-sectors, and the companies at the forefront of financial innovation in the private market.

What is Fintech?

Fintech is an industry built around the use of technology to deliver financial services and solutions. The industry has evolved over time from Fintech 1.0 marking the Analogue age, Fintech 2.0 the digital, and Fintech 3.0-3.5 the emergence of startups in the developed and developing world.

Fintech startup transformation began in the late 90s, with the first digital wallet, Paypal. The 2008 financial crisis further fueled demand for alternative financial solutions as consumer confidence and political-economic conditions shifted. Now, innovations in open banking and blockchain technology open doors for the next generation of fintech companies. 

The fintech industry encompasses a variety of sub-sectors, from payment systems and alternative lending, to financial operation services. These technologies are now part of everyday transactions for consumers - from trading platforms like Robinhood and eToro, to buy now, pay later services like Klarna.

VC-backed fintechs like Stripe and Plaid have transformed business operations. Their technology, which enables instant payments, makes core financial processes easier and faster. The investment opportunity in companies with the potential to transform the global economy continues to grow as emerging private companies develop powerful and efficient digital financial tools, while not without risk.

The Private Market AI Landscape 

Fintech companies raised a staggering $124.55 billion at the height of the venture market in 2021.¹ In 2024, analysts estimated that fintech companies secured $45.68 billion in VC investments.² Although funding levels have decreased, the rate of change slowed in 2024. 

Despite the relative correction, signs point to an uptick in deal and funding activity. Median deal sizes increased year over year by $1 million, indicating higher levels of investment in a smaller number of companies. Fintechs could see increased investment with the emergence of new fintech funds like PruVen Capital’s $387.5M Fund II, or FTV Capital’s fund, which raised over $4B to invest in fintech and enterprise software companies.³

In fact, fintechs have raised significant capital in the first two quarters of 2025. Plaid reported raising $575 million in their most recent funding round, attracting public market investors like Franklin Templeton and Fidelity Management and Research. Digital currency exchanges attracted major investments as well, with Binance securing $2 billion of venture funding from MGX, an Abu Dhabi-based investor. Early stage venture capital firms are eager to participate in the growth of promising fintechs over the long term.

Median pre-money valuations increased 94.4% YoY in 2024, across all funding stages. Later stage fintechs are continuing to grow. There are nearly 300 VC-backed, privately held fintech unicorns, or companies valued at over $1 billion.⁴ Stripe, the financial infrastructure platform, holds the highest known fintech valuation, reaching a staggering $91.5 billion as of their March 2025 tender offer. 

As fintech companies mature, exit activity is increasing. Fintech companies saw their exit values increase 140.7% since 2023. In 2024, fintech M&A volume rose 4.4% year over year, with payments companies comprising almost a quarter of all deals. 

As IPO activity begins to pick up, fintech companies are leading the charge. Etoro's May 2025 IPO, dominated market news with shares surging almost 29% before the end of the first trading day. Circle’s successful listing on the New York Stock Exchange followed. Meanwhile, fintech Chime Financial will IPO this week on NASDAQ. 

Other players like Brex and Airwallex continue to attract attention from investors seeking potential upcoming IPO announcements. Here are the companies that have already made their stock market debut.

Notable Fintech IPOs from 2024-2025

Source: Pitchbook

Expected Upcoming Fintech IPOs

Source: Pitchbook

Fintech Segment + Trends

Key Fintech Segments 

Fintech encapsulates a broad market, with segments like alternative lending, wealth tech, capital markets, and neobanks attracting investor interest in the pre-IPO market. The following segments have showcased advancement and growth potential with their unique business models. 

Payments: Payments uses technology to process financial transactions on the institutional and individual level. Payment solutions-focused companies have received the highest level of funding in each year since 2018 with the exception of 2022, where the crypto market surged. Companies in the payment space like Stripe and Revolut are revolutionizing money transfers through speed, transparency and competitive pricing. 

CFO Stack: The CFO Stack segment uses technology to enhance a company’s financial operations. In Q1 of 2025, the sector raised $1.3 billion.⁵ Ramp, Brex, Navan, and Rippling dominate the CFO Stack market, highlighting capabilities in expense management, accounts payable and accounts receivable automation, and payroll. 

Financial Services Infrastructure: Financial services infrastructure spans a variety of functions including onboarding and account funding, and underwriting and loan origination. The segment saw VC deal value grow 12.1% year over year in 2024 with companies securing $951.7 million of funding in Q1 of 2025.⁶ Companies like Gemini, Mambu, and Plaid are major  players in this market. 

Regtech: Companies in the regtech segment provide compliance and regulatory reporting solutions for financial institutions and service providers. In a constantly-evolving regulatory landscape and with the potential of AI integration, regtech has significant investment opportunities. The global regtech market size is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 31.9% from 2025 to 2029, to almost $42 billion. Examples include ComplyAdvantage and Chainalysis.

The fintech market is bigger than just these few segments. Wealth tech, neobanks, insuretech, and lending are just some of other major segments that are transforming the financial industry. Key players in these segments include: 

• Addepar: aims to provide portfolio management software to wealth advisors serving high and ultra-high-net-worth individuals. They offer data aggregation & reconciliation, analysis tools, custom reports, branded client portals, and API integration for other products and systems.
• Betterment: a digital investment advisor offering investing and retirement solutions alongside their everyday services for spending and saving.
• Mercury: an online bank that provides business services like corporate credit cards, expense management, and software APIs specifically tailored for startups and small businesses.
• Upgrade: a digital that aims to offer credit to mainstream consumers as well as help consumers better understand and manage their money. Neobanks like Upgrade are challenging the traditional banking model.
  
  

The Impact of AI

AI innovation is core to the future growth of the fintech market. Use cases for AI include risk calculation, fraud detection, and financial planning and analysis. Nigel Morris, co-founder and managing partner of QED Investors, a fintech VC investment firm, confirmed that all its 200+ portfolio companies are testing or have adopted AI. Compared to only 16% of US banks in testing with AI technology, this represents a significant opportunity for fintech companies to appeal to enterprise and retail consumers looking to integrate AI into their financial service solutions.⁷ 

Leading fintech companies like Ramp are spotlighting the potential AI has to drive business growth. The company acquired AI company Venue in 2024, while building out internal capabilities focused on process automation.

B2B Continues to Dominate 

While AI presents an opportunity for business-to-consumer (B2C) fintechs, business-to-business companies continue to draw higher levels of investment. B2B companies secured 59.5% of fintech VC deal value in 2024.⁸ These companies are seen as more predictable revenue generators, driving positive investor sentiment. 

Payment platforms like Stripe provide solutions with a focus on streamlining B2B payment processes. Meanwhile companies like Ramp and Rippling aim to simplify management of financial operations and HR processes for large enterprises. These fintech firms have each raised over $1 billion in VC funding.⁹

A Growing Market Opportunity 

As technology remains a key competitive advantage, the fintech industry will play a bigger role in financial services. Fintechs account for roughly 2% of global financial services revenue. This is merely representative of early success in an expanding industry. With annual revenue projected to reach $1.5 trillion, the sector is not just growing, but reshaping financial services across the globe. However, investors should be aware that this high growth potential comes with risks, including regulatory uncertainty, intense market competition, and illiquidity as compared to public market investments.

From frictionless daily transactions to the core technology supporting financial institutions, the scope of capabilities is boundless. Growing funding and strong exit performance, coupled with accelerating AI integrations and other advancements represent a compelling opportunity for investors to engage with and innovate the financial ecosystem. Pre-IPO investing is opening the door to fintech innovation. Shareholders and investors are joining the private market to buy and sell the financial technology companies shaping the world.

Looking for your next fintech investment? Check out our listings page.