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This week we’re a startup out to assist folks navigate long-term care utilizing AI, a flurry of exercise in Africa, one other fintech firm shutdown, and extra.
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The massive story

Lengthy-term care will not be one thing most individuals take into consideration till they’re older, or till they’re pressured to. And by then, it’s usually too late. This matter is private to me, as I noticed each my oldest brother and my mom undergo from diseases and require long-term care lately. Not solely is it tough to search out high quality care, however it is usually extraordinarily costly — even when you had been lucky sufficient to buy some kind of insurance coverage coverage. So after I was just lately pitched a narrative on a startup utilizing AI to assist folks navigate long-term care planning, I used to be intrigued.
Lily Vittayarukskul started Waterlily in late 2021 after her household was “worn out” financially by serving to take care of her aunt who had been identified with terminal colon most cancers. The corporate makes use of synthetic intelligence to foretell a household’s future long-term care wants and prices after which guides them “in constructing a care plan and determining the best strategy to pay for it.”
Fascinating. I’m not the one one who thinks this manner. Vittayarukskul initially began Waterlily as a solo founder till Evan Ehrenberg, a small angel investor, got here alongside. Ehrenberg — who had beforehand based and sold Clara Well being — helped with early analysis and was struck by the business’s response. Curious, he examined the platform and was shocked by his long-term care predictions — a lot in order that he modified his weight loss program, employed a private coach, and up to date his monetary plans. That have pulled him in deeper. By 2022, Ehrenberg — who turned MIT’s youngest neuroscience PhD — had joined Waterlily as a co-founder.
{Dollars} and cents

Uber-backed Moove, an Africa-born mobility fintech that gives car financing to ride-hailing and supply app drivers throughout six continents, has acquired Kovi, a Brazilian city mobility supplier. Moove co-founder and co-CEO Ladi Delano advised TechCrunch that the deal bumps the mobility fintech’s annual income to $275 million. Final March, Moove reported a $115 million ARR.
Formance believes there’s worth in providing a modular platform that’s much like Amazon Net Companies’ tackle cloud internet hosting: Prospects can use a single service, but it surely’s extra environment friendly when you home all of your cloud infrastructure below the identical roof. And it’s simply raised $21 million in a spherical co-led by PayPal Ventures and Portage.
French embedded banking startup Swan has raised another €42 million (round $44 million at present change charges). The corporate considers this spherical to be the second a part of the Collection B that was initially introduced in September 2023.
Cedar Cash recently closed $9.9 million in seed funding led by QED Traders. Like many cross-border cost platforms utilizing stablecoins, Cedar Cash acts as a bridge. It launched in early 2024, beginning operations in Nigeria.
Guinea-based fintech Cauridor just lately raised $3.5 million in seed funding to proceed constructing its cost rails that allow retailers, banks, telecom operators, and cash switch firms transfer funds out and in of Africa.
What else we’re writing

The Client Monetary Safety Bureau (CFPB) has hit U.Ok.-based remittance firm Sensible with an roughly $2 million fine for what it described as “a collection of unlawful actions.”
Cushion, a fintech startup that described itself because the “Plaid for purchase now, pay later (BNPL),” has shut down. Founder and CEO Paul Kesserwani mentioned that “regardless of bringing a number of new fintech merchandise to market,” Cushion “didn’t attain the dimensions wanted to maintain the enterprise.”
Elon Musk-owned social community X introduced a partnership with Visa to deal with person-to-person funds for its upcoming X Cash product.
With its 700,000 clients, Alan might be thought-about as a mature firm. However the medical insurance firm that desires to grow to be a digital companion in your well being is still growing like a startup.
Serial entrepreneur and former recording artist Victor D. Lombard, also called DIVINE, introduced the launch of a new fintech company for musicians in partnership with RAKIM, certainly one of hip-hop’s most influential emcees.
The rise of stablecoins — now a $205 billion market — is pushed by real-world utility, not hypothesis, notably in rising markets the place probably the most compelling use circumstances unfold. Tage Kene-Okafor does a deep dive.
Excessive-interest headlines
Nu Mexico hits 10 million customer milestone
Real estate fraud prevention startup Closinglock secures $34M
Trump stands to gain $250 million after media company expands into financial services
Itaú Unibanco bets big on AI with NeoSpace investment
Advisor AI startup Jump completes $20M Series A funding
Thanks for studying! Till subsequent week … comply with me on X @bayareawriter for breaking fintech information, posts about espresso, and extra.
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