A look back at fintech trends in 2017 and exploring what's ahead in 2018.
Global fintech investment has been on a tear over the past several years and 2017 was no exception. Investors deployed $16.6B across 1,128 deals to VC-backed fintech companies. Some takeaways from 2017:
- Investors pulled away from early-stage fintech investing. Early-stage fintech deal share dropped to a 5-year low in 2017. The US saw the largest pullback in early-stage deals.
- Financing shifted away from Asia-based fintech companies. While Asia dipped, Europe saw funding grow 121% year-over-year and the US hit a new annual high.
- Investors made more concentrated bets in fintech. There was a record of 35 mega-rounds ($100M+) investments to established fintech companies.
This report also focuses on global fintech trends in 2018, including developments in wealth management, insurance, blockchain, and more. Some of the trends this report discusses are how entrenched fintechs are tackling new business models, which incumbents are planning a counterattack, untapped markets for disruption, and potential new entrants.
With an unprecedented amount of funding in fintech, 2018 could be the year that the era of fintech unbundling heads for rebundling.