January 15, 2025

State of fintech

Hi there, 

Fintech funding and deals hit a 7-year low in 2024. 

But there's a bright spot in the data: Deal sizes are climbing. 

The median fintech deal size jumped 33% year-over-year to $4M in 2024, reversing 2 years of decline.

The flight to quality is very real.

The banking sector saw the biggest jump — median deal size rose 70% YoY to $8.5M.

Dive into the full State of Fintech 2024 report to explore:

• The fintech M&A resurgence (up 24% in Q4) 
• Where mature fintech companies are gaining traction
• Why payments tech ended 2024 on a positive note
• Additional trends across sectors & regions

Next top model

The top investors in foundation model developers are hedging their bets, funding both open- and closed-source AI model development.

Corporate investors like Nvidia, Alibaba, and Microsoft are leveraging their investments to drive core business priorities like AI chips and cloud computing.

Coatue, the leading VC by unique companies backed, is also taking a complementary approach: “We see open-source models as firmly having a place alongside proprietary ones.”

Dive deeper into the open vs. closed AI debate in our full report.

Self-driving strategy

Our AI super analyst now works autonomously on your behalf, around the clock. 

It provides personal insight on the markets, competitors, and companies you care about or need to know about — before you ask. 

Imagine you want to track developments in the AI model validation & monitoring market. Once added to your watchlist, you’ll receive proactive updates when players in the market see notable activity like a partnership or deal — with insights into what it means for the broader market. 

An updated UX makes it a snap to view the insights and even pre-generates related questions to explore in ChatCBI. 

Now, you’re always a step ahead.

CB Insights customers can dive in with these links: 

Evaluate markets → Your Market Insights

Outmaneuver competitors → Your Competitor Insights

Source companies → Your Company Insights

Good things come in threes

We’re developing a 3-part series on how AI is reshaping drug R&D.

The first 2 installments are already live:

• AI in drug discovery — explore biologics’ funding flood, a surge of M&A, and big pharma partnerships
• AI in preclinical drug development — dive into the nascent landscape, the evolution of biosimulation, and the formulation tech opportunity

Part 3 will cover AI’s impact on clinical trials.

Interested in access? Reach out to us here.

AI by your side

The race to build industrial AI agents & copilots is heating up.

90% of companies in the space are focused on assistive copilots, which are paving the way for autonomous agents capable of managing entire industrial processes.

Here are 3 key findings from our market map analysis of the growing space:

• 75% of deals go to early-stage companies, signaling major development ahead
• Copilots are taking off in manufacturing, with process optimization and employee guidance in view
• Microsoft has taken a keen interest in the space, partnering with all 14 public companies on the map

Want to dive deeper? Check out the full market map + analysis here.

Industry Standard

The Wall Street Journal. James Rundle (@jimrundle) reports on Anthropic's plan to raise $2B, citing CB Insights data.

The New York Times. Lauren Hirsch (@laurenshirsch) discusses the potential sale of TikTok and cites CB Insights data. 

World Economic Forum. Eiso Kant (@eisokant) examines why code, not natural language, is key to AI's growth, referencing CB Insights research.

I love you.

Anand

@asanwal 

Co-Founder & Exec Chair

P.S. Fortune favors the data-driven. The top 10 Fortune 500 firms trust CB Insights. Learn how you can move faster here. 

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