Fintech deal volume reaches its lowest point since 2017 as investors shift bets to more emerging areas of opportunity.
On the surface, Q3’24 was a sobering quarter for fintech. Funding declined by 25% from Q2’24, to $7.3B. Total deals also dropped 16% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) to 753 — their lowest quarterly level since 2017.
However, average deal size has remained roughly stable in 2024 YTD, suggesting dealmakers are putting more money behind a select group of fintech companies.
Download the full report to access comprehensive data and charts on the evolving state of fintech across sectors, geographies, and more.
Below, we cover key takeaways from the report.
- Global fintech funding sinks to $7.3B, a 25% QoQ decline. However, Q2’24 funding was propped up in part by mega-rounds for Stripe and AlphaSense totaling $1.3B. Excluding those rounds, the decline from Q2’24 to Q3’24 would have been 13%.
- Deal volume drops 16%. Total deals for fintechs continued to decline, falling 16% from 892 in Q2’24 to 753 in Q3’24. This marks the lowest quarterly level since 2017. For comparison, fintech deal volume clocked in at nearly 1,500 two years ago, in Q3’22 — roughly double where it stands now.
- Average deal size remains stable at $12.7M. Despite deal volume declining, average deal size has remained roughly flat YTD, at $12.7M, compared to $13.2M for full-year 2023. The decline in deal volume and stable deal size indicates dealmakers narrowed their focus to fewer, higher-dollar bets.
- 52% of the top early-stage deals are in less-crowded fintech markets. Just over half of the top early-stage deals occurred in financial services markets outside the US and UK — in countries like France, India, Italy, and Kenya. Less-crowded markets like these offer more room for early-stage fintechs to find niches and grow their client bases.
- Wealth tech funding increases by 67%, thanks to 2 $100M+ mega-rounds. Wealth tech funding increased the most of any fintech sector QoQ, from $0.6B in Q2’24 to $1.0B in Q3’24. The increase was fueled by 2 substantial deals:
- $242M Series F round for turnkey retirement plan provider Human Interest.
- $200M Series B round for Earned Wealth, a digital wealth manager targeting medical professionals.
ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH FROM CB INSIGHTS:
- State of Venture Q3’24 Report
- The embedded finance market ranking: Where integrated financial services are maturing, emerging, and plateauing
- The financial planning market map
- State of Fintech Q2’24 Report