Hey fintech friends,

After a summer of AI investment hype, stablecoin surges, and tariff volatility, it's a good time to take stock of what's been happening in fintech over the past quarter and where the latest funding, exit, and product trends are going looking forward.

For new readers, Signals is the premium subscriber edition of TWIF designed to get you away from the headlines and to explore the larger trendlines. Each quarter, we break down four key questions on fintech activity:

1. Which concepts are getting funded? 
2. Where are exits, M&A, and SPACs concentrated? 
3. Which firms are raising debt and venture funds for fintech? 
4. Which products were launched over the last quarter? 

Signals quarterly roundups are possible thanks to Hayden Hill, who collates insights from TWIF's newsletters into a comprehensive data dashboard each quarter.

If you haven’t already, subscribe to future editions here!

Overall activity

Total fintech funding in Q3 rose 6% from the prior quarter, to $9.56 billion in Q3 (a 53% jump Year-over-Year). The number of equity raises was down 8% QoQ (⬇️8% YoY), bringing average deal size up 19% QoQ (⬆️66% YoY).

AI is fueling a resurgence in growth-stage rounds (Series B- Series E), led by Ramp’s $500M Series E-2, ID.me’s $340M Series E, and AppZen’s $180M Series D. Meanwhile a wave of IPO/SPAC filings signal long-awaited exits for Revolut, Wealthfront, Grayscale, BitGo, Coinshares, and Groww. 

Over 50% of global VC funding has been directed to AI this year, but it’s unclear how long this pace of AI-driven investments will last. With capital being deployed faster than it’s replenished, venture dry powder is set to hit its lowest level since 2019. 

Which concepts are getting funded? 🤑