Feb 19, 2020 - Economy & Business

Fintech investors avoided early-stage companies in 2019

Dion Rabouin
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Reproduced from CB Insights; Chart: Axios Visuals

Fintech investment fell in 2019, as the number of deals and the total amount of money invested both declined significantly from 2018's record pace.

The big picture: The biggest decline was in early-stage investing, which saw the lowest number of deals in five years, according to data from CB Insights. Later stage series B+ companies, on the other hand, saw funding rise to five-year highs.

Why it matters: The data shows fintech investors are increasingly moving their dollars away from young companies with higher risk and growth potential and consolidating investment in bigger, more established names that are foregoing public markets in favor of staying private and raising more funding.

  • Nearly 50% of fintech funding in 2019 came from 83 megarounds (deals over $100 million) totaling $17.2 billion.
  • "This is a positive signal that more fintech startups are maturing, which becomes more difficult with each subsequent financing," analysts say in the report.

Details: Annual funding fell by 15% year-over-year in 2019 to $34.5 billion across 1,913 deals.

  • North America, Europe and Asia all saw the number of deals and the total amount invested fall.

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