Alan, the Paris-based insurtech that became the first new independent health insurer in France in 30 years, has secured €100 million in its latest funding round. Backed by prominent investors including Index Ventures, Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke, and World Cup champion Antoine Griezmann, Alan continues to expand rapidly. This fresh capital injection highlights the growing influence of digital innovation in health insurance.
Samaipata, the pan-European venture capital firm established in Madrid in 2016, has officially launched its third fund with an initial close of €70M. The fund, backed by notable investors including Germany’s KfW, Spain’s SETT, and a select group of family offices, aims to invest across Europe in startups that are innovating with artificial intelligence. With a total target of €110M, the fund underscores Samaipata's commitment to fostering the next generation of AI-native companies across the continent.
Launched in 2024, Outpost simplifies international selling by becoming the legally responsible party for cross-border payments, taxes, and compliance, removing the burden from merchants. With Ribbit leading its Series A funding, Outpost addresses the common challenges of failed payments, complex tax requirements, and growing audit risks that have made selling globally difficult and costly.
When a business faces financial difficulties, the instinct might be to aggressively pursue higher revenue. However, this approach can backfire, intensifying the strain instead of alleviating it. It's important to understand the underlying issues causing the stress and address those first, rather than just chasing sales growth blindly.
The recurring pattern with new technologies is familiar: initial excitement, rapid investment, soaring valuations, followed by a correction and skeptics citing past crashes, like dot-com or crypto. Many see AI as just another bubble because we instinctively compare it to previous technological revolutions. However, AI represents a fundamental shift because it performs cognitive tasks, unlike past technologies which extended but did not replace human intelligence. This shift disrupts traditional valuation methods that assume steady growth, causing apparent overvaluation and uncertainty—hallmarks of a bubble, but also signs of frameworks struggling to model discontinuous change.
Unlike electricity or the internet, AI compresses expertise and learns from use, accelerating improvements nonlinearly. This alters the role of human labor and judgment, as redundancies are replaced with opportunities for strategic insight. While skeptics are right about overhype and early failures, the transformative potential of AI in automating knowledge work remains undeniable. The real test lies not in debating whether AI is a bubble, but in identifying meaningful applications that create value despite market volatility.
Humans still hold a crucial role where judgment under uncertainty and strategic prioritization matter most. Successful companies and investors will be those who quietly integrate AI to improve workflows and tolerate early uncertainties. Ultimately, AI’s scalability of intelligence marks a historic inflection point that will reshape industries fundamentally over the coming decade. The narrative of bubbles will fade, leaving behind those who focused on constructive adaptation rather than short-term valuation battles.
Revolut, the London-based neobank, has taken a major step towards establishing a stronger foothold in the US financial market by applying for a banking charter from the OCC and FDIC. The new entity, Revolut Bank US, N.A., will be backed by a $500 million commitment to expand operations. Additionally, Revolut has appointed a former Visa executive as its new CEO for the US division, signaling a serious push into the American banking landscape. This move follows their initial announcement in early 2021 about pursuing a US banking license, highlighting their long-term strategy for growth overseas.
Francesco Simoneschi, CEO and co-founder of TrueLayer, a leading UK open banking fintech, states that the adoption of 'pay by bank'—a payment method that offers an alternative to traditional card payments—is still in its early stages. He highlights that despite growing interest, the sector is just at the starting line, signaling significant potential ahead for open banking payments.
Denki, a San Francisco startup founded in 2025 by brothers Felipe (24) and David Jin Li (20), has raised $4.1 million to develop AI-powered software aimed at automating the financial audit process for public companies. With a goal to modernize audits—which traditionally involve labor-intensive evidence gathering—Denki’s platform enables faster evidence review, enhanced documentation, and more rigorous testing of controls, helping companies better comply with financial regulations while cutting costs. The funding round was co-led by Base10 Partners and Shine Capital, with participation from Y Combinator (which Denki attended in fall 2025), 20VC, and others. The Jin Li brothers bring strong technical backgrounds: Felipe focuses on explainable AI and David has experience in financial data management. Denki aims to replace Excel-based audit methods with more reliable software solutions that reduce risks like AI-generated fraud. Currently a two-person team, the startup plans to expand with the new capital to meet growing demand amid increasing regulatory scrutiny and penalties for audit failures.
Several AI startup founders are adopting an inventive valuation approach, allowing them to create the impression of unicorn status by selling equity at two distinct price points.
Artificial intelligence is increasingly influencing how we approach retirement planning, urging individuals to consider the unpredictable nature of future financial markets and adapt their strategies accordingly.
