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receive toTechCrunch Fintech ! This workweek , we ’re face at the craziness that is Bolt ’s proposed fundraise , how much money Synapse ’s founding father has upgrade for his newfangled venture , just how much hard cash Stripe has and more .
The big story
Last week , the fintech human race was buzzing with the screwball stack thatBolthad proposed to its stockholder . It was enough to make anyone ’s principal tailspin . So I talked to a VC attorney and two of the potential investors and provided a bunch of context inthis bit . The TLDR is that Bolt is endeavor to push investors to vote in support of a $ 200 million Series F raise and a $ 250 “ merchandising credits ” deal . As part of that , founder Ryan Breslow would come back as chief executive officer — and get a $ 2 million bonus , plus an additional $ 1 million of back pay , for doing so ! We ’re all on the edge of our seats to see what happens next .
Analysis of the week
The founder of bankrupt banking - as - a - service startupSynapsemade headlines last calendar week when he take to social media to share details on what he ’s building at his latest speculation — a robotics startup calledFoundation . Many people were surprised that Sankaet Pathak was so quick to move on considering thattens of meg of dollars in customer deposits(that ’s Synapse ’s customers , btw ) stay on unaccounted for . Unabashedly unapologetic , Pathak continue to blame better half bank Evolve for the missing cash , while Evolve finger point right back at Synapse . Meanwhile , he confirmed to TechCrunch that he hasraised $ 11 million in pre - seed moneyfor his new inauguration .
Dollars and cents
Brazil fintechMagieraised $ 4 millionin a seed round led by Lux Capital , marking the firm ’s first investment funds in Brazil . The company , which has raise $ 5.1 million in total , is creating an AI - powered financial assistant . The current production allows masses to direct money and pay bills through WhatsApp .
Kenyan HR and payroll startupWorkpayraised $ 5 millionin Series A funding led by Pan - African venture capital firm Norrsken22 with new participation from Visa .
Skyfire , which has create a payment web specifically for AI agents to make self-directed transactions , formally launched its defrayment meshing and announced$8.5 million in seed funding .
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Waza , a Y Combinator - plump for payment and liquidity platform , has issue from stealth with$8 million in seed money . The startup take to make it easy for African businesses and trader to manage and pay up their supplier globally .
What else we’re writing
PayPalis poise to take advantage of the iPhone ’s newly open - up NFC ( near - theater communication ) capabilities by train amobile wallet of its own for EU users . Earlier this month , Apple announced it wouldallow third - party developers to get at new NFCand Secure Element APIs , which today might contactless minutes and payments — like those enabled by Apple Wallet . Though PayPal has not yet explicitly sustain it will now develop a competing billfold thanks to these unexampled genus Apis , the company has broadly hinted in recent weeks that such a programme is in the work .
I late put outa callasking for fintech companies that are hiring . In just over an 60 minutes , I had received more than a XII response . After a few years , I heard from tons more . The sheer issue — and quality — of response was surprising even to me , someone who writes about this quad on a steady base . We plan to updatethe take postregularly over time , so keep find out back ! Also , if you submitted Book of Job and do n’t yet see them in the post , do n’t rub . They will be added at some point in the future .
High-interest headlines
Prize - linked neobank PrizePool shutters app forward of learning
Stripe , now gushing money , plans new employee tender
mark : A reference familiar with this deal confirmed to TechCrunch that Stripe is indeed ego - fund the entireness of a attendant offer that will allow current employee to sell up to $ 50,000 of eligible shares . That same germ confirmed that Stripe had $ 615 million in free hard cash flow in the quarter that ended in June .
TechCrunch had report in February that Stripe had inked raft with investor to provide liquidness to current and former employee througha tender fling at a $ 65 billion valuation . The dispute this time is that Stripe is self - funding the entireness of the latest offer .
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