Strategic investment fund BankTech Ventures is optimistic that fintech funding will bounce back this year after stalling in 2024.

BankTech has invested $50 million in fintech companies since the fund was established in 2022, according to the company.

“The new administration should hopefully give banks clearer rules of the fintech road and make [banks] more likely to support [fintechs] and invest in new partners and solutions,” Carey Ransom, managing director at BankTech Ventures, told Bank Automation News.

On his second day in office, President Donald Trump announced a $500 billion private sector-led AI venture to expand U.S. AI infrastructure through a four-year project called Stargate. It will be led by investment firm MGX and several tech giants including:

• Microsoft;
• Nvidia;
• OpenAI;
• Oracle; and
• SoftBank.

And this week, Trump Media, a media firm majority owned by Trump launched Truth.Fi, a fintech specializing in crypto and exchange traded funds.

The following tech companies closed deals in January:

DDN secures $300M from Blackstone

Alternative asset manager Blackstone invested $300 million in AI and data solutions provider DataDirect Networks (DDN), valuing DDN at $5 billion.

DDN plans to use the funding to scale its enterprise AI infrastructure and strengthen its presence in the generative AI market, Chief Executive Alex Bouzari said in a Jan. 9 statement.

DDN has raised $309 million since being founded in 1998, according to the online financial database Crunchbase.

Meanwhile, $1 trillion Blackstone on its website lists AI investment for data management as one of the company’s top priorities.

Blackstone said that AI investments have resulted in a $200 million impact on the company’s bottom line since 2015.

German fintech Tapline secures $20.8M

Berlin-based fintech startup Tapline secured $20.8 million in debt and equity financing, which the startup plans to use to scale operations.

The equity portion of the round was led by Karim Beshara, general partner of A15 Venture Capital and managing partner of Accelero Capital, with participation from early-stage investor Antler.

Tapline, founded in 2021 by former bankers and venture capitalists, provides AI-powered financial planning analytics for businesses and serves as a digital funding platform, according to the company.

Tapline has raised $33.4 million since its founding, according to Crunchbase.

Float Financial collects $70M in series B round

Canadian business finance platform Float Financial closed CA$70 million (48.7 million) series B round led by Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives.

Float will use the funds to increase the capabilities of its expense management software and corporate cards, according to a Jan. 13 release. Features added to its products last year include:

• Automated accounts payable;
• Real-time spending insights;
• Virtual and physical cards that can access Canadian and U.S. dollars; and
• Next-day fund transfers and payments.

Float’s software saves companies an average of 7% of their total spend and closes books up to eight times faster, the fintech told BAN. The company plans to use the new funding to expand coast-to-coast and increase its headcount.

Float has raised $121.2 million since being founded in 2019, according to Crunchbase.

Swiss fintech nsave raises $18M

Switzerland-based fintech nsave launched a new investment solution following an $18 million series A funding round led by TQ Ventures.

The offshore banking app grants users access to ETFs and U.S. equities from any location without currency devaluation. It uses a proprietary monitoring transaction tool to ensure that its technology is compliant with Swiss banking regulations, including related to anti-money laundering, according to the fintech.

Since being founded in 2022, nsave has raised $22 million, according to Crunchbase.

Register here for Bank Automation Summit 2025, taking place March 3-4 in Nashville, Tenn. View the full event agenda here.