3 Up-and-Coming AI Chip Stocks To Put On Your Must-Buy List
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Are you searching for a list of top AI chip companies? AI chip companies are set to soar in the coming decade, with the undeniable disruption of technology sweeping through society.
Although cynics point toward the overbought nature of AI and even suggest its gains have already been realized, this argument is speculative at best. Calling a top or bottom of the market is notoriously difficult. Changing one's investment thesis or strategy based on these speculative predictions may also be problematic. Missing out on future growth by doing so is a strong possibility.
So if you are bullish on the future of AI, here are the top AI chip companies to buy.
ON Semiconductor (ON)Source: Shutterstock
ON Semiconductor (NASDAQ:ON) is a rising star in the semiconductor space with a diversified portfolio across high-growth sectors like AI, 5G, and vehicle electrification.
Several reasons make ON stock one of the top AI chip companies. The company exhibits strong financial health, with a cash-to-debt ratio of 0.75 and an operating margin of 32.66%. Its 3-year average EBITDA growth rate ranks better than 72.4% of companies in the same industry.
Another reason to consider buying ON is that it may be undervalued based on its technicals. It trades significantly above its 200-day moving average, which signals that the market is bullish on this one. Not all of an investor's plays need to be contrarian in nature, and buying popular stocks may be less risky than one that is in a downtrend. This helps make it one of those top AI chip companies to buy.
C3.Ai (AI)Source: Sergio Photone / Shutterstock.Com
C3.Ai (NYSE:AI) offers custom enterprise AI applications and has already attracted major clients like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG/ NASDAQ:GOOGL). With its specialization in pattern recognition and predictive monitoring, it offers investors segmented exposure to a specific niche in the AI supercycle.
The company reported a mixed financial performance for FY 2023, with a modest 5.6% year-over-year (YOY) revenue growth to $266.8 million but a GAAP net loss per share of $2.45. Subscription revenue, making up 86% of total revenue, grew by 11.4%. The company remains cash-rich with $812.4 million in cash and cash equivalents.
C3.Ai is therefore well-funded and supported by major brands in the FAANG acronym. Its extensive war chest means it has a longer runway than other companies. This is a crucial factor for tech stocks as they need time to build up their network effects and economies of scale. The liquidity also means it may take bigger risks than other companies that don't have the same financial backing, which could lead to competitive advantages later on. These factors all make C3 one part of the top AI chip companies.
Baidu (BAIDU)Source: shutterstock.Com/Peshkova
Baidu (NASDAQ:BAIDU) dominates over 75% of China's search market and has invested heavily in AI-based autonomous driving research. Despite initial setbacks with its new chatbot service, Ernie, the company announced that 30,000 businesses had already signed up for trials. It's developments like these that show that the commercialization of generative AI is well underway.
Baidu reported a 15% YOY revenue increase in Q2 2023, beating expectations and marking its fastest growth in two years. The growth was driven by a 15% rise in online marketing revenue. Regulatory changes in China also appear favorable, and its robotaxi service continues to scale.
The company is well-loved even by Western investors. Not only is it one of the most important Chinese internet stocks, it also gives investors exposure to emerging markets. This should help solidify this pick in your portfolio.
On the date of publication, Matthew Farley did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.Com Publishing Guidelines.
Matthew started writing coverage of the financial markets during the crypto boom of 2017 and was also a team member of several fintech startups. He then started writing about Australian and U.S. Equities for various publications. His work has appeared in MarketBeat, FXStreet, Cryptoslate, Seeking Alpha, and the New Scientist magazine, among others.
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Solution Providers Tell All: Who Are Some Of The Most Up-And-Coming Tech Vendors?
Channel News Gina Narcisi August 28, 2023, 09:00 AM EDTWith IT requirements changing fast and new demands coming in from customers, CRN asked MSPs about the hidden gem tech vendors that are on their radar right now.
Hidden Gems
IT requirements are changing rapidly but economic uncertainty has plagued the industry over the past couple of years. Now businesses are slowly revisiting IT projects that were forced to the back burner, and many companies are evaluating their infrastructure after some or all employees have returned to the office, at least in a part-time, hybrid capacity.
The shift is also impacting solution providers who are assessing their portfolios to see what areas may be lacking and what kinds of technology or practices they should consider adding to their repertoires. But from cybersecurity, to networking, unified communications and collaboration, to cloud services, there's a slew of technology vendors to choose from.
While it's safe to say that some solution providers' dance cards are full, the new requirements coming in from customers have some looking outside the market heavyweights or tried-and-true favorites. They are discovering new players that are bringing fresh technology and perspectives to the table, and these vendors are catching their eye.
With that in mind, CRN posed the question to solution provicer executives: "Which lesser-known tech vendor do you consider the most up and coming and why?" Here's what a sampling of they had to say on the subject.
Gina Narcisi54 Up-and-coming Fintechs Transforming Wall Street And The Way Consumers Bank, Trade, Invest, And Pay, According To 34 Top Investors
Addition Wealth Addition Wealth's leadership team: Amy Chou, Ana Mahony, and Hally Peck. Addition Wealth
Cited by: Restive Ventures (investor), Anthemis Group (investor)
Total funding: $4.2 million
What it does: Addition Wealth is used by companies to give employees access to advice when they need help with financial decisions, such as understanding equity compensation and retirement savings.
Why it's on the list: "Employees today are more stressed than ever when it comes to their finances," Katie Palencsar, an investor, managing director, and global head of venture studio at Anthemis, said. "Similar to how companies provide mental health and fertility benefits, more and more are providing employees with financial wellness benefits."
"Traditional models, including working with a financial advisor, are generally very expensive," Palencsar said. "Addition Wealth makes financial expertise more inclusive and accessible by supporting all employees with their personal finances."
"The company helps employees make good financial decisions, especially when considering complex instruments like employee stock options," Tyler Griffin, a managing Partner at Restive Ventures, said. "I wish I'd had something like this at my startup, since founders are often called on to act as impromptu financial (and sometimes even tax) advisors to their own employees."
Albert Yinon Ravid, the CEO and cofounder of Albert. Albert
Cited by: CapitalG (investor)
Total funding: $225 million
What it does: Albert helps users track their finances while also advising and making recommendations.
Why it's on the list: "Albert's financial wellness app solves a mass market pain point for the millions of Americans underserved by existing banks and financial institutions," said Alex Nichols, a vice president on the investment team at CapitalG.
"The company is using software to give every American access to the financial tools and advice that traditionally have only been made available to those with wealth managers."
Here's the pitch deck Albert used to raise its Series C.
Anrok The Anrok cofounders Michelle Valentine and Kannan Goundan. Anrok
Cited by: Index Ventures (investor)
Total funding: $24.3 million
What it does: Anrok offers sales tax software for subscription-based software companies.
Why it's on the list: "Recent changes to the tax code have given states the ability to collect sales tax from software companies that sell into their state — even if they don't have a physical presence there," Mark Goldberg, a partner at Index Ventures, said. "This means SaaS companies are being forced to fit into a 50-year-old mold in the tax code that was created decades before the birth of the internet."
"Anrok does all the heavy lifting so companies can focus on building businesses not becoming tax experts," Goldberg added.
Ansa Ansa's cofounders, JT Cho and Sophia Goldberg. Ansa
Cited by: Bain Capital Ventures (investor)
Total funding: $5.4 million
What it does: Ansa is a white-labeled digital wallet that helps merchants avoid large credit card fees on small transactions.
Why it's on the list: "Ever see a sign at a gas station or coffee shop insisting that you use cash for transactions over $10? The reason why is that card fees represent a huge portion of the transaction, eating into margins for businesses," Sarah Hinkfuss, a partner at Bain Capital Ventures, said. "Yet, repeat customers who come in daily often spend small amounts on credit cards, making the most loyal customers into the least profitable."
"Ansa's solution will let every business create a digital wallet for their customers, which will also increase loyalty and offer opportunities for promotions," Hinkfuss added.
Arch The CEO and cofounder of Arch, Ryan Eisenman. Arch
Cited by: Interplay
Total funding: $5.5 million
What it does: Arch takes on the administrative workload of investment management.
Why it's on the list: The Interplay partner Mark Peter Davis said he was excited about Arch because "it's a fully integrated platform designed to reduce repetitive, manual work associated with managing investments, improving productivity while delivering a better experience and deeper insights."
Axis The Axis team. Axis
Cited by: Everywhere Ventures (investor)
Total funding: $8.25 million
What it does: Axis is a digital payments platform for small businesses in North Africa.
Why it's on the list: "The Egyptian economy is fueled by small business contributing up to 80% of the GDP," Jenny Fielding, a cofounder and managing partner at Everywhere Ventures, said. "However, more than half of these business owners don't have access to simple digital banking services which negatively impacts their ability to scale their business."
"Axis solves this by providing small businesses with a digital banking alternative starting with payroll," Fielding said.
Ballerine Ballerine's cofounders: Nitzan Guy, Noam Izhaki, and Alon Peretz. Ballerine
Cited by: Team8 (investor)
Total funding: $5 million
What it does: Ballerine is an open-source risk decision-making software that helps banks, wealth firms, and other financial institutions automate key decisions around verifying clients before opening accounts or executing a transaction.
Why it's on the list: "Compliance is a constantly-evolving complex issue with stringent requirements, making it top of mind for any company handling financial transactions subject to KYB/KYC and other financial risk regulations," Hadar Siterman Norris, a Team8 partner, told Insider, referring to the regulatory obligations Know Your Business and Know Your Customer.
"This category of businesses is expanding and already extends beyond financial institutions and fintechs, including many eCommerce, marketplaces and SaaS companies. Ballerine's open-source architecture provides developers and risk managers with a flexible, future-proof compliance infrastructure, allowing them to pick and choose risk 'building blocks,' design their own workflows, and gain access to a wide selection of data sources on the Ballerine platform."
Banyan Infrastructure The Banyan Infrastructure cofounders, Will Greene and Amanda Li. Banyan Infrastructure
Cited by: Energize Capital (investor)
Total funding: $42 million
What it does: Banyan Infrastructure is a platform used by banks, lenders, and asset managers for financing sustainable and renewable-energy projects. The software automates data ingestion, risk monitoring, and contractual compliance for these loans.
Why it's on the list: "Banyan's software is purpose-built for sustainable infrastructure, making it better able to address the intricacies and specificities of the space than other generalist financing software on the market," Honour Masters, a senior investment associate at Energize Ventures, said.
"We believe this sustainability focus — combined with their customers' stickiness — gives Banyan a competitive advantage over other project finance solutions. We're also excited about the role Banyan's software will play in enabling other sectors of the clean energy economy — from renewable energy to mobility to decarbonization. By optimizing sustainable project finance, Banyan's platform effectively sits at the top of the 'climate tech universe,'" Masters added.
Cable The Cable co-founders, Katie Savitz and Natasha Vernier. Cable
Cited by: Restive Ventures
Total funding: $16.3 million
What it does: Cable provides automated risk analysis and testing for banks, fintechs, and crypto firms.
Why it's on the list: "The extent to which new entrants will build more sophisticated anti-fraud systems is something we find interesting (and is an area in which we have invested)," Tyler Griffin, a managing partner at Restive Ventures, said. "Doing a better job with risk management also allows financial firms to serve a broader, more diverse group of customers, which is critical to the long-term health of the economy and its participants."
Calculum Calculum CEO Oliver Belin. Calculum
Cited by: Information Venture Partners
Total Funding: $6.4 million
What it does: Calculum uses analytics, data assets, and AI to improve businesses' cash flows by helping them select suppliers, negotiate payment terms, and assess the risk of supply chain disruptions.
Why it's on the list: "Calculum is developing a highly innovative product in the emerging category of supply chain finance technology, helping companies compare their payment terms to benchmarks and help negotiate better terms," Jane Podbelskaya, a principal at Information Venture Partners, told Insider. "Its experienced founder has shown great early traction and delivers clear value to current customers."
Clara The Clara cofounders, Gerry Giacomán Colyer and Diego Iván García Escobedo. Clara
Cited by: GGV Capital (investor)
Total funding: $160 million
What it does: Clara offers corporate credit cards and expense-management solutions for companies across Latin America.
Why it's on the list: "The Clara team is amongst the strongest that we have seen in Latin America," Marcello Rossi, an investor at GGV Capital, said. "The company is working with more than 10,000 companies across LatAm and reported an annual run rate of 5 million credit card transactions, which is equivalent to $1 billion."
"Clara is continuing to deepen its market penetration in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico as it rolls out bill pay and software solutions as part of its platform," Rossi said.
Coherent Coherent's CEO and cofounder, John Brisco. Coherent
Cited by: Smash Capital
Total funding: $75 million
What it does: Coherent provides software that turns spreadsheets into code for financial services companies.
Why it's on the list: "Spreadsheet models underpin the critical business logic that powers lending, underwriting, investing, and more across the financial services landscape, but, when banks, insurance carriers, and asset managers need to put that logic into production, the 'model' has to be pushed into software that can scale," said Paul Szurek, a general partner at Smash Capital.
"Today, this is an expensive, long, and risky process for most organizations. Coherent's Spark platform is like a compiler plus GitHub for Excel - instantly turning any model into cloud-based software that can be tested, monitored, and connected into online workflows via API," Szurek said.
ConnexPay ConnexPay's CEO and cofounder, Robert Kaufman. ConnexPay
Cited by: FTV Capital (investor)
Total funding: $145 million
What it does: ConnexPay allows businesses, such as online marketplaces, ticket brokers, and travel agencies, to accept payments from customers, issue payments to suppliers, and monitor for fraud.
Why it's on the list: "I like the unique combination of acquiring and issuing to allow online travel agencies and marketplaces to both own the customer relationship and avoid having to prefund all of their capital needs, thereby reducing their working capital requirements. ConnexPay's growth beyond travel and into other sectors like delivery, ticket brokers and insurance providers, among others, has demonstrated a sustainable, connected ecosystem to reduce risk, improve cash flow, lower costs of accepting payments and provide easier reconciliation across verticals," said Adam Hallquist, a principal at FTV Capital.
Copper Banking The Copper Banking cofounders, Stefan Berglund and Eddie Behringer. Copper Banking
Cited by: Fiat Ventures (investor)
Total funding: $42.3 million
What it does: Copper Banking is a digital bank made for children to learn financial literacy.
Why it's on the list: "They have a deep understanding and appreciation for their Gen-Z customer who is earning, saving, spending and investing like no generation before. They've built a unique go-to-market strategy that focuses on building financial literacy within schools so that the impact they have is much deeper than app downloads," said Marcos Fernandez, a managing partner at Fiat Ventures.
Croissant The Croissant cofounder and CEO, John Howard. Croissant
Cited by: Portage (investor)
Total funding: $24 million
What it does: Croissant guarantees a resale price for goods by integrating into merchants' online checkouts. After the purchase, the item becomes a liquid asset within the customer's account that they can later sell with one click.
Why it's on the list: "Interest in the circular economy is going to grow as climate becomes the issue of our generation," said Stephanie Choo, a partner at Portage, referring to an economic system built on the reuse and regeneration of materials or products.
Crux Crux's team, including its cofounders Alfred Johnson (second from the left) and Allen Kramer (second from the right). Crux
Cited by: Avid Ventures
Total funding: $8.85 million
What it does: Crux is building a marketplace that enables renewable-energy financiers and developers to transact and manage tax credits.
Why it's on the list: "For the first time in history, the Inflation Reduction Act allows for the transfer of tax credits that are generated from building renewable energy infrastructure. Crux is capitalizing on this development by transforming the traditionally expensive and complex legal structuring of these transactions into a transparent, user-friendly software platform and marketplace," said Alex Agus, an investor at Avid Ventures.
"In the next decade, approximately $3 trillion is expected to be invested in clean energy and decarbonization projects, which could generate around $85 billion of annual tax credits that can be transacted via Crux's platform. By creating a workflow and execution software platform for buying and selling these tax credits, Crux is incentivizing all stakeholders (developers as well as tax-bearing corporations) to participate and contribute to renewable energy development, thereby accelerating the achievement of carbon reduction goals," Agus said.
Equi Equi's cofounders, Itay Vinik and Tory Reiss. Equi
Cited by: Vesey Ventures (investor), Montage Ventures (investor), Smash Capital (investor)
Total funding: $25 million
What it does: Equi is an investment platform aiming to give more investors access to alternative assets.
Why it's on the list: "There has been a democratization of alternative investments, but getting access to the top-performing funds is still inaccessible for most due to the high minimum investment levels coupled with the top-performing funds being closed to new investors," Matthew Murphy, a general partner at Montage Ventures, said.
"Equi solves this problem through their data-driven approach to finding the top performing alternative assets and opening up access to their customers through a tech-driven hedge fund that is actively managed to diversify and protect your portfolio while outperforming the market," Murphy said.
"We're excited for the increase in investor accessibility to asset classes outside of public equities and for Equi's proprietary strategies and technology to ride that tailwind," Julia Huang, a partner at Vesey Ventures, said.
"This is the next frontier for retail investing, and Equi is the only company today with both the technology and asset management capabilities to deliver sustainable, outsized performance for the market at scale," Paul Szurek, a general partner at Smash Capital, said.
Exponential Exchange The Exponential Exchange cofounders: Paul Fortin, the head of index products, Ryan Naughton, the CEO, Murali Kanakasabai, the COO, and Boone Park, the general counsel and chief strategy officer. Exponential Exchange
Cited by: MaC Venture Capital (investor)
Total funding: $8.8 million
What it does: Exponential Exchange is building a tradeable index for the used-vehicle market, similar to how energy or agriculture futures markets operate. Its platform is designed to protect rental car companies, auto insurers, and auto lessors against exposure to price fluctuations of used vehicles in their portfolios via derivatives that settle against the startup's used-vehicle index.
Why it's on the list: "Rapidly evolving technology such as the rise of electric vehicles has led to increasing volatility of the value of internal combustion engines," Marlon Nichols, a managing general partner at MaC Venture Capital, said. "This has left the value of many fleet owners' collection of assets uncertain — particularly in a market seeing a rise in shared, rented, leased assets, or new subscription models."
"The company's platform leverages industry-wide data to establish better underlyings for index futures," Nichols said. "By focusing on building smart markets, and incorporating top-tier security achieved through smart contracts, Exponential Exchange is positioned to create the first derivatives market for the automotive industry—an opportunity estimating $3.5 trillion of value annually.
Federato Federato's cofounders: William Steenbergen, the CTO, Megan Bock Zarnoch, the COO, and William Ross, the CEO. Federato
Cited by: Bain Capital Ventures
Total funding: $40 million
What it does: Federato is a risk-analysis platform for the insurance industry.
Why it's on the list: "The insurance industry is awash with data across policy administration data, existing models, and third-party data sources, but the industry struggles with how to appropriately use and integrate it," Sarah Hinkfuss, a partner at Bain Capital Ventures, said. "Too often, insurers are reactive to losses rather than proactively optimizing risk across the portfolio."
"Federato's platform creates a single pane of glass for underwriters to transform risk selection, improving overall profitability and enabling wider product selection," Hinkfuss said.
Forage Ofek Lavian, the cofounder and CEO of Forage. Forage
Cited by: QED Investors, Redpoint Ventures, Greylock Partners
Total funding: $22 million
What it does: Forage is a third-party payment processor for electronic-benefit-transfer transactions, allowing those who receive EBTs to shop for groceries online.
Why it's on the list: "One in eight Americans receives government assistance to buy groceries — however, it has not been possible until recently to use these benefits to access the convenience of online shopping," Laura Bock, a partner at QED Investors, said. "Since the pandemic, online grocery shopping has taken off. Forage will help ensure all Americans are able to purchase groceries online."
"Forage is uniquely positioned to help merchants accept online SNAP EBT payments online, abstracting integration complexity and streamlining the government licensing process to provide greater financial inclusion for low-income shoppers," Kwesi Acquay, a principal at Redpoint Ventures, said.
"The Forage team took a set of valuable experiences building this payments infrastructure within Instacart, and is expanding it to a broader set of grocers who do not yet accept EBT online," Mike Duboe, a general partner at Greylock Partners, said.
Found The Found cofounders, Lauren Myrick and Connor Dunn. Found
Cited by: Index Ventures
Total funding: $75.2 million
What it does: Found provides banking services for self-employed workers such as freelancers and contractors.
Why it's on the list: Found is a "vertical finance platform for a demographic that is sorely in need of one," Mark Goldberg, a partner at Index Ventures, said.
Fragment The Fragment team. Fragment
Cited by: GGV Capital
Total funding: $10.8 million
What it does: Fragment offers APIs for software engineers to build financial applications and manage financial data.
Why it's on the list: "Fragment is addressing a ledgering and reconciliation pain point for fast-growing fintechs and finservs," Marcello Rossi, an investor at GGV Capital, said. "The company is growing and rapidly expanding its customer base."
FX Hedgepool The FX Hedgepool cofounders: Jay Moore, CEO, and Emin Tatosian, CTO. FX Hedgepool
Cited by: Information Venture Partners (investor)
Total funding: $8 million
What it does: FX HedgePool matches asset managers with other companies to directly exchange currencies.
Why it's on the list: "FX HedgePool is bringing transparency and efficiency to FX markets globally, working with the world's largest asset managers to drive value to all participants in the market," Dave Unsworth, a cofounder and general partner at Information Venture Partners, said. "Its flagship product, a first-of-its-kind peer-to-peer swap matching platform, has matched trillions of dollars of FX swaps to date."
Imprint The Imprint cofounders, Daragh Murphy and Gaurav Ahuja. Imprint
Cited by: Portage
Total funding: $78 million
What it does: Offers businesses co-branded credit cards and rewards programs.
Why its on the list: "This is a huge market that hasn't been disrupted in years and Imprint has signed some significant contracts with cobrands in the airline, grocery, and hotel space," according to Stephanie Choo, a partner at Portage.
Kanmon The Kanmon cofounders, Rohit Sharma and Mengxi Lu. Kanmon
Cited by: Vesey Ventures
Total funding: $9.5 million
What it does: Kanmon enables software companies to build and offer financing products like loans to their business customers and suppliers.
Why it's on the list: "We remain cautiously optimistic about embedded fintech generally — the best products and teams will make it through today's extended integration timelines to enable SMBs to more seamlessly access financial products," Julia Huang, a partner at Vesey Ventures, said.
Loctax The Loctax CEO and cofounder, Stevi Frooninckx. Loctax
Cited by: Felicis Ventures
Total funding: $15 million
What it does: Loctax helps companies manage global tax compliance.
Why it's on the list: "Managing risks with tax is hard enough, and doing it globally is even more challenging," Ryan Isono, a deal partner at Felicis Ventures, said. "Loctax is making it easy for companies to manage tax risk and stay compliant. This year they've added more features making them one of the most advanced tax management platforms in the world."
Maza Robbie Figueroa, Luciano Arango, and Siggy Bilstein, the cofounders of Maza. Maza
Cited by: Harlem Capital
Total funding: $8 million
What it does: Maza offers banking services for immigrants with a focus on Spanish-speaking populations.
Why it's on the list: "Building a consumer-focused financial product is a challenging task given the number of alternatives in the market," Gabby Cazeau, a partner at Harlem Capital, said. "The Maza team has an exceptional understanding of Latinos, their core end customer, and built a product that truly delivers."
"So much of consumer fintech is about building a strong brand that resonates, and the Maza team has done that in a meaningful and authentic way," Cazeau added. "Beyond the brand, the product is incredibly slick, easy to use, and sets a gold standard for the next generation of consumer fintech companies."
Here's the pitch deck Maza used to raise its $8 million seed round.
Mercury The Mercury founder and CEO, Immad Akhund. Mercury
Cited by: Pear VC
Total funding: $163 million
What it does: Mercury provides banking for startups to start and scale their businesses.
Why it's on the list: "Product-first approach solving a major pain point for startups," Pejman Nozad, the founding managing partner at Pear, said.
Mesh Mesh CEO Diego Asenjo, left, and Tony Bryan, chief technology officer, right. Mesh
Cited by: Anthemis Group
Total funding: $6 million
What it does: Mesh automates license and certification verifications for businesses.
Why it's on the list: "Mesh's extensive integrations into disparate data sources give them the ability to automate the vast majority of business identity verification, relieving customers of any painstaking manual review processes," Ruth Foxe Blader, a partner at Anthemis Group, said.
"As they continue to grow their network of verified profiles, they'll be able to enable a one-click verification for previously onboarded businesses, bringing frictionless user experiences that consumers have grown accustomed to the B2B world," Blader said.
Method Financial The Method Financial cofounders: Mit Shah, Jose Bethancourt, and Marco del Carmen. Method
Cited by: Clocktower Technology Ventures
Total funding: $18.5 million
What it does: Method makes it easier for fintech developers at neobanks and online lenders to embed repayment, balance transfers, and bill pay automation into their apps.
Why it's on the list: "By leveraging consumer-credit-access protections enacted into law, tapping into identity-verification data from credit bureaus (e.G. Equifax) and wireless carriers (e.G. T-Mobile), and combining it with real-time data from financial institutions' core banking systems, Method then enables its customers to make real-time repayments to more than 15,000 financial institutions," Ben Savage, a partner at Clocktower TechnologyVentures, said. "While preexisting solutions struggle with repayment historically being slow, manual, and error-prone, Method seeks to make onboarding and repaying consumer debt accounts as seamless as possible."
MoCaFi The MoCaFi founder and CEO, Wole Coaxum. MoCaFi
Cited by: Citi Impact Fund (investor)
Total funding: $45.3 million
What it does: MoCaFi provides public-benefits access, low-cost mobile banking, and credit-building and wealth-building tools to underserved communities.
Why it's on the list: "Approximately 110 million Americans and more than 50 percent of people of color are unbanked, underbanked or deal with economic hardship with no path to financial stability. MoCaFi has developed a financial services platform that provides affordable, credit-building financial products and the infrastructure for government entities to disburse social benefits to their constituents, ensuring greater access of these resources to more people who need them," Jeffrey Meyers, a director of the Citi Impact Fund, said.
Monarch Money The Monarch Money cofounders: Val Agostino, Ozzie Osman, and Jon Sutherland. Monarch Money
Cited by: Clocktower Technology Ventures (investor)
Total funding: $20 million
What it does: Monarch Money is a money-management and financial-advice platform that helps users track their entire financial picture and plan for their future by integrating account balances, transactions, subscriptions, and investments into one place.
Why it's on the list: "The platform employs the latest AI technology to reduce barriers to great financial tools and advice, recently launching an AI-powered personal finance assistant to make managing money as easy as having a conversation. Monarch releases new features every month, letting users vote on what they'd like to see next, and promises no ads (instead charging a low-cost subscription fee), so the company can stay fully neutral in its recommendations of ancillary products and services," said Ben Savage, a partner at Clocktower Technology Ventures.
Monite The Monite cofounders, Ivan Maryasin and Andrey Korchak. Monite
Cited by: Team8 Capital
Total funding: $11.3 million
What it does: Monite enables companies to embed B2B payment offerings, such as accounts payable and receivable, into existing payment interfaces.
Why it's on the list: "The B2B payments market has experienced a ton of disruptive innovation over the last 10 years," said Hadar Siterman Norris, a partner at Team8 Capital."Monite has managed to push the boundaries even further with a novel, embedded approach that empowers banks and fintechs to cater to SMB clientele with white-labeled solutions for invoicing, payables and B2B payments."
Ness The Ness cofounders: Kenneth So, Christina Gerdes, Derek Flanzraich, Katherine Lynch. Ness
Cited by: Madrona Venture Group
Total funding: $21.75 million
What it does: Ness is a wellness-focused credit card that offers rewards for healthy spending activity.
Why it's on the list: "Corporate wellness benefits are increasingly under pressure and Ness offers an attractive way for customers to earn rewards for healthy spending," said Hope Cochran, the managing director of Madrona Venture Group. "The reward mechanism for activity is a cool application of health-monitoring technology with tangible consumer benefit."
Noetica AI Daniel Wertman, the cofounder and CEO of Noetica AI. Noetica AI
Cited by: Bling Capital (investor)
Total funding: $7.85 million
What it does: Noetica is an AI-powered software platform that uses machine-learning and natural-language processing algorithms to extract data from complex financial documents.
Why it's on the list: "In just their first year of operations, they've managed to close contracts with some of the top law firms in the country," Kyle Lui, a general partner at Bling Capital, said. "There is a strong founder-market fit and a bold vision to disrupt the multitrillion-dollar corporate lending industry using AI and software."
OatFi OatFi founder and CEO Michael Barbosa. OatFi
Cited by: QED Investors (investor)
Total funding: $61.25 million
What it does: OatFi enables business-to-business payment providers to offer buy now, pay later financing.
Why it's on the list: "B2B payments are finally coming online," Laura Bock, a partner at QED Investors, said. "By unlocking the critical data that platforms have in digital form, Oatfi can offer automated, instantaneous working capital to businesses on both sides of every transaction."
"Rising interest rates and increased inflation continue to compress businesses' operating cashflow, presenting a unique opportunity for OatFi and its partners to help solve these cash-flow needs," Bock said.
Odyssey Energy Odyssey Energy CEO Emily McAteer. Odyssey Energy
Cited by: Energize Ventures
Total funding: $21.09 million
What it does: Odyssey Energy provides a marketplace for financing renewable-energy projects.
Why it's on the list: "We believe that digital systems-of-record such as Odyssey will become the next generation of market-development tools aimed at improving the flow of capital to the energy transition and the financial efficiency of the assets deployed, especially in emerging markets where it is particularly difficult to do so," said Honour Masters, a senior associate at Energize Ventures.
Pagos Pagos cofounder and CEO Klas Bäck. Pagos
Cited by: Point72 Ventures (investor)
Total funding: $44 million
What it does: Pagos helps merchants extract data and insights from payment processors like Stripe and PayPal, helping them understand things like changing consumer behavior and operating costs.
Why it's on the list: "As global digital payments exponentially rise, we believe the need for payments infrastructure and the ability to manage it is becoming increasingly critical," said Sugam Sarin, a principal at Point72 Ventures. "The Pagos team, which includes alumni from Braintree, PayPal, and Stripe, has built a platform that has analyzed over 1 billion transactions and serves some of the largest online brands in the world by enabling them to understand and optimize their payments stack seamlessly," Sarin added.
Pomelo Pomelo cofounder and CEO Eric Velasquez Frenkiel. Pomelo
Cited by: GGV Capital
Total funding: $20 million
What it does: Pomelo is a platform for remittance payments and international money transfers.
Why it's on the list: "Pomelo provides a fresh approach to cross-border remittances utilizing credit cards," Hans Tung, a managing partner at GGV Capital, said. "The company is scaling rapidly and is exploring new remittance corridors beyond the US and Philippines."
Proper Proper cofounders Travis Gibson, left, and Kyle Maloney. Proper Finance
Cited by: Redpoint Ventures (investor)
Total funding: $7 million
What it does: Proper provides infrastructure for other fintechs to manage data.
Why it's on the list: "Data (and eventually AI) will be the key unlock for the next big wave of payments and financial operations workflows," Kwesi Acquay, a principal at Redpoint Ventures, said.
"Proper is building critical data-infrastructure primitives for the modern fintech stack, enabling teams to have a unified source of truth reconciling disparate payments and customer-data sources to automate financial operations and money movement," Acquay said.
Here's the pitch deck Proper used to raise its $4.3 million seed round.
SamCart SamCart CEO Justin Smith and cofounders Brian and Scott Moran. SamCart
Cited by: TTV Capital (investor)
Total funding: $95 million
What it does: SamCart is a subscription-based e-commerce platform for creators to help them diversify revenue streams and process payments.
Why it's on the list: "To date, SamCart has enabled 77,500-plus businesses to sell 9.7 million products, processing $2.8 billion worth of transactions," said Lizzie Guynn, a partner at TTV Capital.
"The creator economy is projected to reach $480 billion by 2027, and entrepreneurs need an easy way to manage sales, boost conversions, and grow their brand. SamCart's e-commerce platform and educational tools are poised to be the solution of choice for creators as they work to scale their businesses," she said.
StellarFi StellarFi CEO Lamine Zarrad. StellarFi
Cited by: Interplay (investor)
Total funding: $22 million
What it does: StellarFi helps people build credit by reporting bill payments to credit bureaus while improving financial literacy.
Why it's on the list: "Their unique product creates an unmatched, efficient approach to building credit as the first-ever credit builder that reports all bill payments as credit transactions directly to all major credit bureaus," said Mark Peter Davis, a partner at Interplay VC.
Here's the 10-page pitch deck StellarFi used to raise $15 million.
Stori Getty Images
Cited by: GGV Capital (investor)
Total funding: $449.6 million, according to Crunchbase
What it does: Stori offers credit cards to underserved populations in Latin America.
Why it's on the list: "The Stori team is a perfect example of a seasoned team bringing a global mindset to solving a big local challenge," Rares Crisan, the vice president of technology at GGV Capital, said. "Stori provides a personal credit card to populations that are underserved by incumbent financial institutions."
"In May, it announced 2 million customers in Mexico. Stori stands out as it continues to grow rapidly and expand into more countries in LatAm," Crisan said.
Thatch Thatch cofounders Adam Stevenson and Chris Ellis. Thatch
Cited by: Avid Ventures (investor)
Total funding: $6.25 million
What it does: Thatch makes it easier for people to manage and pay for healthcare costs with a Health Savings Account, debit card, and on-demand access to billing experts.
Why it's on the list: "Thatch enables companies to provide employees with a modern, personalized health benefits and payments experience," Tali Vogelstein, a founding investor at Avid Ventures, said.
"With a Thatch card, employees pay for a health insurance plan of their choice, purchase digital health products/services at a discount, and cover HSA-eligible, out-of-pocket expenses with tax savings automatically applied."
Themis Neepa Patel, Themis' founder and CEO. Themis
Cited by: TTV Capital (investor), The Fintech Fund (investor)
Total funding: $9 million
What it does: Themis has built a full suite of compliance software for banks, fintechs, and the companies they work with to manage all their processes digitally.
Why it's on the list: "Founder Neepa Patel began her career in compliance herself, first on the regulator side at the OCC and then in-house as a chief compliance officer at multiple banks. Dissatisfied with the terrible tools and software that bank compliance teams had at their disposal to manage difficult, complex, high-risk processes, she decided to quit and build it herself," said Nik Milanovíc, a general partner at The Fintech Fund.
"Documentation is critical for compliance programs, but workstreams have largely been managed over email and spreadsheets. Themis is making it possible for compliance teams to collaborate more effectively and maintain a single source of truth," added Neil Kapur, a partner at TTV Capital.
Here's the 9-page pitch deck Themis used to raise its $9 million seed.
Toggle AI Toggle AI cofounders, from left, Armenak Mayalian, CTO; Giuseppe Sette, president; and Jan Szilagyi, CEO. Toggle AI
Cited by: Citi Ventures
Total funding: $16.5 million
What it does: Toggle AI helps investors identify investment opportunities and portfolio vulnerabilities by using AI to monitor and analyze market data in real time.
Why it's on the list: "Toggle AI is unique in its ability to harness the power of advanced generative-AI tools such as large language models and natural language processing to help investors understand the overall market and investment opportunities so that they can make informed decisions in real time," said Jelena Zec, a director of venture investing at Citi Ventures.
"Toggle AI acts as a source of truth for investors, offering live and historical data-backed answers to urgent and complex questions. It's an ingenious way to leverage the power that lies within data and AI, empowering investors to better understand both investment opportunities and areas of improvement," Zec said.
Tribal Credit Tribal Credit CEO and cofounder Amr Shady. Tribal Credit
Cited by: The Fintech Fund
Total funding: $200 million
What it does: Tribal Credit has built a corporate-card and expense-management platform, like Brex or Ramp, for startups in emerging markets.
Why it's on the list: "The platform provides SMBs in emerging markets with better access to financial services with a twist: its own digital token called Tribe Rewards, giving startups on the platform unique abilities to earn, leverage, trade, and sell rewards points," said Nik Milanovíc, a general partner at The Fintech Fund.
Unit Unit cofounder and CEO Itai Damti. Unit
Cited by: Inspired Capital
Total funding: $169.6 million
What it does: Unit helps companies launch new digital banking products and services with its API.
Why it's on the list: "From the moment I met Itai Damti, I knew he was going to be a very special founder," Alexa von Tobel, a managing partner at Inspired Capital, said. "He has a big vision for Unit's role in the embedded fintech landscape, and the company continues to drive momentum in building banking infrastructure, which is particularly important in this economic climate."
Vaya Vaya cofounders Soham Sen and Ankit Singh. Vaya
Cited by: TTV Capital
Total funding: $4.5 million
What it does: Vaya enables digital platforms to provide a variety of credit products to their business customers or sellers.
Why it's on the list: "The company provides seamless contextual commercial credit that allows the customer to select and plug the right credit products exactly where their business customers need them," said Neil Kapur, a partner at TTV Capital.
Volt Volt cofounders Steffen Vollert, COO; Tom
