What countries led Europe for FinTech deals & How agentic AI will transform InsurTech in 2025

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How agentic AI will transform InsurTech in 2025 - The insurance sector is currently faced with a pressing need to enhance accuracy in risk assessment, streamline claims verification, and personalise coverage to meet rising customer demands. With expectations higher than ever, firms are now looking for a panacea. Enter agentic AI—an innovative solution that is being tipped by many to transform the InsurTech sector in 2025.  

Read the full story here.

Research highlight

UK companies dominate the European FinTech marketplace with a third of the deals in Q3

Key European FinTech investment stats in Q3 2024:

• European FinTech deal activity increased by 7% QoQ
• UK companies dominated the European FinTech marketplace with a third of the deals from the region for the quarter
• Akur8, a machine learning-powered platform for insurance pricing, secured a $120m Series C funding round making it one of the biggest European FinTech deals for Q3

In Q3 2024, the European FinTech market continued its downward trend in funding and deal activity compared to the previous year.

The sector recorded 288 funding rounds, a 66% drop from the 858 deals completed in Q3 2023.

FinTech companies in Europe raised $3.51bn in Q3 2024, representing a 44% decrease from the $6.22bn raised during the same period last year.

Despite this decline, the modest increase of 7% in deals compared to Q2 2024 (270 deals) suggests some stabilisation in deal-making activity within the sector.

The United Kingdom remained the most active FinTech market in Europe, completing 94 deals (32% share) in Q3 2024, down from 258 deals in Q3 2023.

Notably, the UK's share of total deal activity increased slightly, emphasising its leading role in the region despite fewer deals.

France followed with 39 deals (13% share), a drop from the 78 deals completed in Q3 2023, surpassing Germany, which recorded 27 deals (9% share) compared to 105 deals in the same period last year.

The continued dominance of the UK, along with the relatively stable activity in France and Germany, highlights the concentrated nature of FinTech investment in Europe, even as the market faces headwinds.

Akur8, a machine learning-powered platform for insurance pricing and reserving, has achieved one of Europe’s biggest FinTech deals of the quarter by securing $120m in Series C funding, bringing its total investment to $180m.

The round was led by growth equity firm One Peak, with contributions from Partners Group and existing investor Guidewire Software, Inc.

This latest funding will drive Akur8’s ambitious growth strategy, supporting product innovation with new modules—Optim, for optimising pricing strategies, and Deploy, a rating engine to streamline rate deployment.

Following its recent acquisition of the Arius reserving platform, Akur8 is set to expand its capabilities in the reserving sector, targeting new markets and bridging the gap between pricing and reserving.

With these developments, Akur8 is well-positioned for rapid global expansion, especially in North America, as it tailors its AI-driven SaaS solutions to meet market demands and broaden its impact across non-life insurance segments.

Weekly FinTech deal roundup

Landmark $300m Cyera raise headlines this week’s FinTech funding rounds – This week, the funding landscape witnessed a significant milestone with $626.95m raised across 27 deals, headlined by a landmark $300m funding round from RegTech giant Cyera. Read the full story here.

InsurTech news

• The current state of insurance onboarding: Key trends and insights - As UK insurers grapple with rising claims costs and escalating premiums, the pressure on onboarding processes has never been greater. Motor claims payouts surged by 18% last year, while British drivers faced premium hikes of over a third, outpacing the rest of Europe. At the same time, home insurance renewal quotes soared by 42%, leaving insurers scrambling to adapt. Given these tribulations, the efficiency and effectiveness of insurance onboarding has become crucial.  Read the full story here.
• Five Sigma’s AI adjuster Clive is transforming claims management - Five Sigma was founded in 2017 to leverage insurance data with deep tech. Oded Barak, Co-founder and CEO, and his partners in Five Sigma brought in domain experts in claims and tech and worked to put together a cloud solution that transformed the claims management market. Now, they’ve released another such product. Read the full story here.
• Akur8 and AAIS collaborate to revolutionise predictive modelling in P&C insurance - Akur8, a cutting-edge provider of insurance pricing and reserving solutions powered by transparent machine learning, has partnered with the American Association of Insurance Services (AAIS), a leading not-for-profit advisory organisation supporting the Property & Casualty (P&C) insurance industry. Read the full story here.

WealthTech news

• OneChronos advances capital market trading with $32m investment led by Addition - OneChronos, the technology firm known for optimizing financial markets, today announced it has raised $32m in expansion capital. Read the full story here.
• Revolut eyes global expansion with AI, ATMs, and Europe-wide mortgages - Revolut has revealed its ambitious 2025 vision at its The Revolutionaries event in London, celebrating a milestone of 50 million customers. Read the full story here.
• Minu raises $30m to expand employee wellness platform in Mexico - Minu, a leading employee wellness platform in Mexico, has raised $30m in a Series B funding round to enhance its services and solidify its position in the region. Read the full story here.

RegTech news

• Corlytics: The story so far and the future ahead - FinTech Global recently spoke with Corlytics CEO John Byrne to find out more about the story of the company so far and what is to come for the Irish RegTech enterprise.  Read the full story here.
• How AI is revolutionising compliance in the GDPR and AI Act era - In an era where data protection is paramount, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) continues to play a crucial role in safeguarding personal data across the European Union. Read the full story here.
• How CS3D is reshaping financial institutions’ approach to risk management - The recently implemented CS3D established by the European Commission on July 25, 2024, mandates a radical shift in how financial institutions handle their operations and global value chains. Read the full story here.

CyberTech news

• Data security leader Cyera secures $300m Series D, hitting $3bn valuation - Cyera, a leader in AI-driven data security, has raised $300m in its Series D funding round, achieving a valuation of $3bn. Read the full story here.
• Wiz secures strategic funding from SoftBank Vision Fund 2 to boost cloud security in APAC - Cloud security company Wiz, recognised as a leader in cloud-native application protection, has announced a strategic investment from SoftBank Vision Fund 2. The funding aims to support Wiz’s expansion efforts in the Asia-Pacific and Japan (APJ) region. Read the full story here.
• One in four Gen Zs targeted by identity theft in the past 6 months - New data reveals the rising prevalence of fraud and security risks, both online and in-store, significantly impacting consumer trust and urging retailers to strengthen security measures across the board. Read the full story here.

ESG FinTech news

• How CS3D is reshaping financial institutions’ approach to risk management - The recently implemented CS3D established by the European Commission on July 25, 2024, mandates a radical shift in how financial institutions handle their operations and global value chains. Read the full story here.
• ISS ESG unveils customisable climate report tailored for investors - ISS ESG, the sustainable investment branch of ISS STOXX, has unveiled a new customizable version of its Climate Impact Report. Read the full story here.
• UK government proposes critical regulations for ESG ratings - The UK government has announced plans to regulate ESG ratings providers as part of its strategy to enhance transparency and maintain robust oversight in the rapidly expanding sustainable finance sector. Read the full story here.

Other FinTech news

• How fraudsters use social engineering to empty bank accounts - Social engineering scams, particularly those involving bank impersonation, pose a significant threat to financial security. Read the full story here.
• How database verification and AI power up KYC compliance - In a webinar hosted in collaboration with the LSEG, SmartSearch delved into the transformative impact of data-based IDV on the KYC protocols. Read the full story here.
• Harnessing the power of machine learning in banking fraud detection - ML has revolutionized how banks detect and prevent fraud, employing algorithms to analyze vast amounts of transaction data and spot unusual patterns that may indicate fraudulent activity. Read the full story here.