Say hello to fintech’s newest unicorn

Top News

• Moniepoint snags $110M: Now reportedly a unicorn, Lagos-based Moniepoint just raised a Series C that was worth more than all the capital it had raised previously. The company offers payment and banking tools to other companies. Google’s Africa Investment Fund joined the round, which was led by DPI. Verod Capital and Lightrock also kicked in cash. The round is notable for its size and timing. We aren’t seeing that many new fintech unicorns lately, and nine-figure rounds for African startups have become thin on the ground in recent years.

• AI search is coming to the world: Yesterday we learned that Meta is working on search products to lessen its reliance on Google. Google, however, is not sitting still. The Verge reports that Google’s AI search features — that overview box at the top of your results — are coming to 100 more countries this week. Presumably Google likes what it is seeing from the rollout of its AI answers domestically. No matter if you prefer the new form or not, search is rapidly changing.

• $50M for a brain-computer interface startup: INBRAIN Neuroelectronics wants to use “graphene-based neural technologies” to help people with neural disorders. Neural disorders include Alzheimer, epilepsy, and strokes, so the market for what INBRAIN wants to build is huge. Its new capital, a Series B, was led by imec.expand, with participation from Asabys Partners, Vsquared, and the European Innovation Council (EIC) fund.

TWiST500: Alternative Energy Additions

Hydrostor, Altris, KiteKraft, and Bedrock Materials. Those are the companies I am adding to the TWiST500 today.

We’re going to get back to alternative energy sources and storage on the podcast in short order, but I want to put a flag in the ground for the TWiST500 now. Given ramping electricity demands and climate change, there’s no good reason to wait.

Why those four companies? Here’s my thinking:

• Hydrostor: Compressed air power storage. I love the company’s concept for how to store power using pretty simple physics, but in a manner that is clean and potentially big. The company has also raised lots of capital, including debt and a major round led by Goldman. My take on energy storage is that we’re going to need an all of the above solution, instead of relying on a single method. Hydrostor could help round out the market, and it has a focus on helping renewable power generation replace more polluting inputs.

• Altris and Bedrock: Altris (based in Sweden, $32 million raised) and Bedrock Materials (based in California, $9 million raised) both want to build batteries that use sodium instead of lithium. Why does the difference in material choice matter? As Altris argues on its website, “sodium-ion batteries are made from the world’s most abundant and readily available raw materials.” Cheap is good. Available is good. And no matter how well Hydrostor does, we’re going to need a lot of batteries. Why not make them more cheaply?

• KiteKraft: This one is slightly more off the wall, but if it works, the company could unlock a lot of energy generation with a very limited footprint. European and therefore able to access the EU’s Horizon Europe funding, KiteKraft wants to put wind turbines into the air. Yep, flying wind power generation. The YC-backed startup thinks that its technology can generate more efficient wind power, so here’s hoping we can KiteKraft juice, and feed it into Hydrostor and sodium-ion batteries, right? KiteKraft is also making real progress in testing its tech, meaning that commercialization is not out of sight. I love it. — Alex

A message from DevSquad

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This Week in Startups

E2035: Alex interviews Linda Gray about Mastertech.ai, exploring its impact on the auto repair industry and its benefits for technological adoption. They dive into AI-driven diagnostics, OEM approval process, and the role of AI in anomaly detection. Plus, a demo of Mastertech.ai’s diagnostics shows the potential of AI to revolutionize repair workflows. Later, Lior Gavish joins to explore data observability and AI's role in accelerating Monte Carlo's growth and strategy.

E2034: Jason and Alex kick off Live News by discussing earnings week predictions and the national debt. Mattias Scheek (founder of Mayht) joins to talk about his journey in audio tech, the Sonos acquisition, and challenges for hardware startups. They also cover election security, YouTube monetization, Google's new AI model, and Apple’s app permissions approach.

E2033: Alex talks with Shensi Ding from Merge, who shares her transition from finance to tech and highlights the critical role of integrations in modern businesses. They explore the challenges of building and maintaining these integrations, emphasizing the importance of standardized data models. The conversation covers trust-building, enhancing integration observability, and expanding Merge's offerings to include AI applications. They also touch on financial efficiency, growth strategies, and Merge's evolution beyond APIs, concluding with insights into future plans and potential acquisition interest.

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• Squarespace: Turn your idea into a new website! Go to https://www.Squarespace.com/TWIST for a free trial. When you’re ready to launch, use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

• Kalshi: Kalshi—the largest regulated predictions market—now lets you trade on US elections. Visit kalshi.com/twist to see live odds, trade, and get $20 when you deposit $100.

LAUNCH Cloud Kitchens Incubator

Applications are open for Cohort 2 of the LAUNCH CloudKitchens Incubator (LiCK). We're looking for food entrepreneurs who wish to expand into the ghost kitchen space or tech founders with a team and a great idea. The application and more information can be found at https://ck.launch.co/.

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