Mary Ann Azevedo, Author at TechCrunch

Chime and Dave execs are coming to TechCrunch Disrupt 2024

Mary Ann Azevedo — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 15:00:00 +0000

The rise of neobanks has been fascinating to witness, as a number of companies in recent years have grown from merely challenging traditional banks to being massive players in and of themselves. Chime and Dave are just two examples of such neobanks. Hear from Chime product officer Madhu Muthukumar and Dave CEO Jason Wilk at […]

Stripe acquires payment processing startup Lemon Squeezy

Mary Ann Azevedo — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 20:55:44 +0000

Payments giant Stripe has acquired a four-year-old competitor, Lemon Squeezy, the latter company announced Friday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. As a merchant of record, Lemon Squeezy calculates and pays global sales tax for digital products, handling legal processing and fees in every country. It primarily serves SaaS and software businesses. In a […]

Digital banking startup Mercury abruptly shuttered service for startups in Ukraine, Nigeria, other countries

Christine Hall, Mary Ann Azevedo, Tage Kene-Okafor — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 17:19:53 +0000

Digital banking startup Mercury informed some founders that it is no longer serving customers in certain countries, including Ukraine.

From Facebook to the face of crypto: Inside Anthony Pompliano’s wild career

Christine Hall, Mary Ann Azevedo — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 15:01:00 +0000

He’s known by a single-syllable name: Pomp. But his story is of an unconventional rise to success that almost ended two years after it began.

Evolve hack fallout continues, fintech M&A heats up and Plaid talks enterprise push

Mary Ann Azevedo — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 17:05:00 +0000

Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech! This week, we’re looking at the Evolve Bank hack, three notable acquisitions, Plaid’s enterprise customer growth and more. To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important fintech stories delivered to your inbox every Tuesday at 8:00 a.m. PT, subscribe here. The big story On June 26, Evolve Bank & […]

Startups scramble to assess fallout from Evolve Bank data breach

Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai, Mary Ann Azevedo — Thu, 27 Jun 2024 16:21:43 +0000

Fintech-friendly Evolve Bank disclosed a data breach, saying it may have impacted customers and partners.

Infighting among fintech players has caused TabaPay to ‘pull out’ from buying bankrupt Synapse

Mary Ann Azevedo — Thu, 09 May 2024 20:59:55 +0000

A dust-up between Evolve Bank & Trust, Mercury and Synapse has led TabaPay to abandon its acquisition plans of troubled banking-as-a-service startup Synapse.

Startup neobank Mercury is taking on Brex and Ramp with new bill pay, spend management software

Mary Ann Azevedo — Tue, 07 May 2024 13:00:00 +0000

Digital banking startup Mercury is layering software onto its bank accounts, giving its business customers the ability to pay bills, invoice customers and reimburse employees, the company has told TechCrunch exclusively. The additional features puts the company in even more direct competition with the likes of Brex and Ramp, two rival fintechs that have for […]

They thought they were joining an accelerator — instead they lost their startups

Mary Ann Azevedo, Christine Hall — Thu, 02 May 2024 17:38:21 +0000

Lacey Hunter thought all was well as she put her startup through the three-month Newchip accelerator. Then the organization filed for bankruptcy in May 2023. Things went from bad to worse later that year when she discovered warrants of her company — rights to buy an ownership stake — had become part of the proceedings, […]

Binance CEO ‘CZ’ sentenced to four months in prison

Mary Ann Azevedo — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 20:36:34 +0000

Changpeng Zhao, also known as “CZ,” the founder and CEO of crypto exchange Binance, has been sentenced to four months in prison. Six days ago, the US Department of Justice had recommended that Zhao be given a 36-month prison sentence, which would have been “well above the possible 18 months laid out in his plea […]

‘Wallet-as-a-service’ startup Ansa raises $14 million with female investors leading the way

Mary Ann Azevedo — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 13:00:45 +0000

Ansa, a startup that helps merchants develop and offer branded virtual wallets, has raised a $14 million Series A round of funding, the company has told TechCrunch exclusively. Renegade Partners led Ansa’s latest financing, which included participation from existing backers Bain Capital Ventures, BoxGroup and Wischoff Ventures and new investor B37 Ventures. With this latest […]

Backflip raises $15 million to help real estate investors flip houses

Mary Ann Azevedo — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 14:30:19 +0000

Flipping houses is not for the faint of heart, no matter how fun or easy HGTV might make it seem. One startup wants to make the process less complicated by offering a different way to borrow money to fund such a purchase. Founded in late 2020, Backflip offers a service to real estate investors for […]

Stripe’s big changes, Brazil’s newest fintech unicorn and the tale of a startup shutdown

Mary Ann Azevedo — Sun, 28 Apr 2024 14:30:49 +0000

Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech! This week, we’re looking at Stripe’s big product announcements, a bump in valuation for a Brazilian fintech startup and much more! To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important fintech stories delivered to your inbox every Sunday at 7:00 a.m. PT, subscribe here. The big story Stripe announced that it will […]

Seed-stage firm Eniac Ventures raises $220M across two funds

Mary Ann Azevedo — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 16:00:08 +0000

Eniac has raised $60 million for Select 1, the firm’s vehicle for follow-on later-stage investments, and $160 million for Eniac VI.

‘Send now, pay later’ startup Pomelo lands $35M Series A from secretive Vy Capital, Founders Fund

Mary Ann Azevedo — Mon, 22 Apr 2024 18:00:46 +0000

Pomelo, a startup that combines international money transfer with credit, has raised $35 million in a Series A round led by Dubai venture firm Vy Capital, TechCrunch has exclusively learned. Additionally, the company is announcing a $75 million expansion of its warehouse facility. Founders Fund and A* Capital also participated in the financing, along with […]

SoftBank-backed TabaPay is buying the assets of a16z-backed Synapse, after it filed for bankruptcy

Mary Ann Azevedo, Christine Hall — Mon, 22 Apr 2024 15:37:21 +0000

After a tumultuous year, banking-as-a-service (BaaS) startup Synapse has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and its assets will be acquired by TabaPay, according to the two companies. The deal is pending bankruptcy court approval. Founded in 2017, Mountain View-based TabaPay is an instant money movement platform that SoftBank backed in a 2022 round of an […]

Fintech startup Ramp sees 32% bump in valuation, Mercury expands into consumer banking

Mary Ann Azevedo — Sun, 21 Apr 2024 14:30:52 +0000

Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech! This week, we’re looking at Ramp’s big raise and valuation jump, Mercury’s move into personal banking, Klarna’s new credit card, global funding rounds and more! To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important fintech stories delivered to your inbox every Sunday at 7:00 a.m. PT, subscribe here. The big story Ramp, […]

Ramp raises another $150M co-led by Khosla and Founders Fund at a $7.65B valuation

Mary Ann Azevedo — Wed, 17 Apr 2024 22:08:19 +0000

Spend management startup Ramp has raised another $150 million at a post-money valuation of $7.65 billion, the company confirmed to TechCrunch today. New investor Khosla Ventures and existing backer Founders Fund co-led the raise, which also included participation from new backers Sequoia Capital, Greylock and 8VC. Other existing investors Thrive Capital, General Catalyst, Sands Capital, […]

Cherub, an angel investing community inspired by dating apps, entices investors and founders to pair up

Mary Ann Azevedo — Wed, 17 Apr 2024 15:42:03 +0000

Jaclyn Johnson and Angeline Vuong were on a hike deliberating how hard it can be for people to get started in angel investing when they realized they had stumbled upon a startup idea.

Fintech Mercury, whose B2B business is caught up in regulatory scrutiny, expands into consumer banking

Mary Ann Azevedo — Wed, 17 Apr 2024 13:00:58 +0000

Business banking startup Mercury, founded in 2017, is now launching a consumer banking product. Mercury today serves more than 100,000 businesses, many of which are startups, via its B2B practice. The expansion is a natural move for the company and one that has been in the works for a couple of years, according to Immad […]