FinTech Europe: more investments in the first six months of 2021 than in all of 2020

The European technology sector has already attracted more investments than in all of 2020. According to Dealroom data, start-ups on the continent raised 43.8 billion euros in the first six months of 2021, well over 38.5 billion euros invested in 2020. this despite the number of rounds of financing being instead half: 2,700 in the first six months of 2021, compared to 5,200 last year. Among the largest loans of the period, Swedish buy now pay later Klarna raised over $ 1.6 billion in two rounds of funding for a total valuation of $ 45.6 billion, making it the highest rated private fintech value in Europe and the second on a global level. The German trading app Trade Republic grossed $ 900 million in a May fundraiser while the UK’s Checkout.com raised $ 450 million in January. The period of crisis connected with the pandemic has essentially launched the sector further, as also explained by Checkout.com CEO Guillaume Pousaz: “When there is a great change and transformation in society, it is the moment when you see the ’emergence of many new start-ups ”. French President Emmanuel Macron himself said he aims to create at least 10 technology companies in Europe worth over 100 billion euros by 2030. The next generation of tech giants will have to take into account the need to build a new reconfiguration in facilities and in tax credits for businesses to invest in start-ups and in the regulatory changes that can be made to adapt to sector innovations. Consob commissioner Paolo Ciocca, speaking before the Finance Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, recently highlighted how the EU package on digital finance is the first attempt to regulate this sector at EU level: “The digital transformation involves the appearance on the financial market of new global / regional players, some of which were born as suppliers of technological services. An increase in competitive pressure on traditional operators is expected, together with an improvement in the ability to exploit data and make processes simpler and more efficient. New forms of capital raising and possible different market configurations are also envisaged. I am convinced that this opening towards the innovation of business models should be oriented to the benefit of consumers and real growth ”. And, again, “The legislative proposals under discussion are part of an overall package that must be understood in its unity. The initiatives are in fact part of a single strategy that responds to the need to capitalize on opportunities and at the same time manage the risks that arise from the application of the latest digital innovations to the financial market. Among the most important aspects is the phenomenon of the fragmentation of value chains. Several actors intervene in this chain, coming from regulated and non-regulated sectors, as well as from different geographical areas (Europe and beyond), therefore subject to different disciplines; this requires a rethinking of how to safeguard the integrity, stability, fair competition and security of data ”.