Ramp bought 15-person Swedish FinTech. It was really buying a continent 🇪🇺💸; AI Agents just got Credit Cards. Nobody built the fraud stack 🤖💳; Upstart’s Bank charter is a breakup letter? 🏦🤷‍

FinTech is Eating the World, 17 March

Hey Everyone,

Good morning & happy Tuesday! Today we’re diving into Ramp, which made two M&As in just 3 days (why the acquisition of the 15-person Swedish FinTech is really about “buying” the continent, how both M&As strategically fit into Ramp’s global strategy & what to watch for next + bonus deep dive into the brilliant rivarly of Brex vs. Ramp & how Ramp gave AI agents their cards), AI Agents that now have their own Visa Cards (what’ happening here & why fraud infrastructure is becoming critical now + bonus list of top 25 AI startups (& their decks) & an a guide how to turn Claude into your Sr. Financial Analyst), and Upstart, which is aiming to become a bank (what’s the big plan here & why it’s a breakup letter to its own business model + bonus dives into PayPal & Affirm Banks inside). Let’s jump straight into the fascinating stuff 🌶️

Ramp just bought a 15-person Swedish FinTech. It was really buying a continent 🇪🇺💸

The news 🗞️ Capital One COF 0.00%↑ swallowed Brex in January for a whopping $5.15 billion. Two months later, Ramp made the move(s) that explains what it plans to do with the vacuum.

This is one of the most interesting FinTech developments this month so far, so let’s unpack this.