AI fuels VC rebound amid global uncertainties 🤖😤; Affirm expands global reach through new Shopify partnership 💳🛍️; Toast’s Q4 2024: rare blend of growth & profitability in restaurant tech 🍞📈

FinTech is Eating the World, 21 February

Hey Everyone,

TGIF! What a week we just had in FinTech… 🤯 The best part? It’s not over yet as today we’re looking into how AI fueled venture capital rebound amid global uncertainties (recapping the latest funding numbers, why they matter & what’s next + bonus startup resources for founders and entrepreneurs), Affirm which just expanded its global reach through new Shopify partnership (what it’s all about & why it matters + bonus deep dives into both Affirm & Shopify, and their latest financials), and Toast’s Q4 2024 results that show a rare blend of growth & profitability in restaurant tech (deep dive into Toast, their latest financials & whether you should be bullish on this restaurant FinTech giant in 2025 & beyond). Let’s jump straight into the incredible stuff 🌶️

AI fuels venture capital rebound amid global uncertainties 🤖😤

Following the money 💸 The global venture capital market ended 2024 with a dramatic uptick, reaching a seven-quarter high of $108.6 billion in Q4 across 7,022 deals, according to the latest KPMG Private Enterprise's Venture Pulse report.

This rebound was primarily driven by unprecedented interest in artificial intelligence (AI), with eight megadeals exceeding $1 billion - mostly in AI - accounting for over $36 billion.

This resurgence was particularly notable given the challenging conditions throughout most of 2024, including geopolitical tensions, high interest rates, and election uncertainties.

Let’s take a look at this, unpack the most important numbers, and see what’s next.