U.S. Fintech Venture Funding Hit Record $7.39B In 2015: KPMG & CB Insights Report

NEW YORK, March 9, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Venture funding in the U.S. fintech sector jumped 72% in 2015, hitting a record $7.39 billion - up dramatically from $4.3 billion in 2014.  The banner year was highlighted by newly minted Unicorns and increased involvement by financial services giants, but Q4'15 saw investment to venture (VC)-backed fintech companies cool off, according to the Pulse of Fintech, the quarterly global report on fintech VC trends published jointly by KPMG International and CB Insights. 

To view the full report, please visit this link: https://home.kpmg.com/xx/en/home/insights/2016/03/the-pulse-of-fintech-q1-2016.html?cid=ext_eml_clnt_xx_link-01-acx_ent-fin-pls&utm_medium=eml&utm_source=ext_clnt&utm_content=xx_link-01-acx&utm_campaign=ent-fin-pls

"The millennial generation is at the forefront of many of the changes that are occurring," said Brian Hughes, National Co-Lead Partner, KPMG LLP's Venture Capital Practice. "They have grown up with the internet, are more tech savvy than previous generations and like to do everything on-demand from their smart phones. These characteristics are driving a lot of disruption across all industries, especially fintech."

According to the new report, actual deal volume rose by only 15 deals year over year, suggesting a significant increase in deal size. In fact, in North America, the 10 largest fintech rounds of 2015, including SoFi, Zenefits, Avant and others, totaled more than $3.3B, accounting for more than 44% of funding. This likely reflects growing interest in more established entrepreneurs and business models with the ability to move to market quickly.

The report also found that corporates, including significant activity by major banks, have participated in 20%+ of all North American fintech deals in 4 of the past 5 quarters.

"Over the past year, there has been a shift as banks have moved from seeing fintech companies as disruptors to cocreators," said Hughes. "Banks are increasingly collaborating with fintechs to embed new services and technologies that improve customer experience and drive efficiency."

"The banking industry is experiencing a permanent shift. ATM cards, teller windows, and cash today are increasingly less relevant. Now, every major bank has a digital strategy to take their products and services mobile," said Fiona Grandi, National Leader for Fintech, KPMG LLP.  "While funding slowed in the fourth quarter of 2015, the pace of change and response in the market has accelerated and will continue to do so."

About KPMG International
KPMG is a global network of professional services firms providing Audit, Tax, and Advisory services. We operate in 155 countries and have 174,000 people working in member firms around the world. The independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"), a Swiss entity. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such.

About KPMG LLP
KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm (www.kpmg.com/us), is the U.S. member firm of KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International's member firms have 174,000 professionals, including more than 9,000 partners in 155 countries.

About CB Insights
CB Insights, backed by RSTP and the National Science Foundation, is a software-as-a-service company that uses data science, machine learning, and predictive analytics to help our customers predict what's next — their next investment, the next market they should attack, the next move of their competitor, their next customer, or the next company they should acquire.

SOURCE KPMG LLP

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