Amazon's growing appetite for Web3 😳; Stripe's most expensive mistake ever 🤷‍♂️; A neobank for Latino families 💪

FinTech is Eating the World, 17 February

Hey Everyone,

Happy Friday! Today’s issue is just perfect to end a busy week 👏 We’re looking at Amazon's growing appetite for Web3 (& why their strategy could be an inflection point for Web3), Stripe's most expensive mistake ever (new numbers, crazy funding round, and two deep dives into their competition), and a neobank for Latino families (that backs a strong FinTech trend for 2023). Let’s jump straight into the flaming stuff 🌶

Amazon's growing appetite for Web3 😳

Following the money 💸 Amazon's Alexa Fund led a $20 million Series A into creative NFT studio Superplastic, The Block reported.

Craft Ventures, Google Ventures, Galaxy Digital, Kering, Sony Japan, and Animoca Brands, among others, also participated.

The USP 🥊 Founded in 2017, Superplastic specializes in the manufacturing of animated synthetic celebrities, designer toys, and apparel.

One of those characters are Janky and Guggimon, “synthetic” celebrities conceived in a Superplastic studio and big on social platforms like TikTok and Instagram, where they exist as influencers with millions of followers, hyping up other brands, music acts, etc.

The deal 🤝 As part of the deal, Superplastic will also reportedly benefit from what Amazon AMZN 0.00%↑ called a first-look tie-up with Amazon Studios. The pair are currently working on a series featuring Janky and Guggimon.

The show follows "two lazy and spectacularly incompetent best friends who are hell-bent on getting rich and famous but leave a trail of chaos and destruction in their wake," according to the press release.

Why this matters? 🤔 This move shows Amazon’s growing ambitions for Web3. But there are a few other important things. Here’s more on this + the takeaway: