Europe's fintech sector is seeing renewed interest from U.S. investors viewing the continent as a safer long-term investment destination - according to a new 'state of European fintech' report from Finch Capital. Aman Ghei, partner at Finch Capital joins Silvia Amaro to discuss.

The release of Open AI's ChatGPT has accelerated the development of artificial intelligence and warnings about its impact on society.

Rise of AI

Artificial intelligence is becoming more prevalent in the fintech sector, with companies leveraging AI to enhance their services. Despite a 30% drop in deal volumes, the total capital invested in fintech, especially in Europe, has risen by 20%. The market is also seeing robust merger and acquisition activity, with 16 to 19 deals reported.

London continues to be the leading city for fintech funding, though France and Germany are increasing their share. While IPO activity remains subdued, with a significant backlog, the focus has shifted to mid-market exits through M&A. AI is mainly used as an enabling technology in fintech, allowing companies to build new services without the need for large infrastructure investments.

AI being enabled in fintech space: Finch Capital

AI is here in FinTech as well. We're seeing an enabling of AI companies in the sector wrapping around their services. From a funding standpoint we're seeing record amount of capital go into the into the sector. Even though volumes are down about 30% the amount of dollars flowing into FinTech particularly in Europe is up 20%. And finally we're seeing a buoyant exit market. So we're seeing about I would say 16 to 19 M&A deals happen in the market. I would like to look at volumes for a moment because I did notice the reports highlighting the slowdown in funding since 2021. What are the main reasons behind that? Yeah look I think 21 was an anomaly. So we had record lows in interest rates and so it's very hard to compare to 21. But if you look back maybe there's been a trend. There has been a trend since 21 to where we are today and that has improved. But if you look back to 27 2018 we're above those levels and I think that's the level that we should be aiming towards. More importantly is the deal concentration. So we're seeing now about the top two deals for instance in Europe accounted for about 40% of all the volume. Back in 21 it was about 10%. And that is a really important feature in the ecosystem for ourselves. I'd also like to compare what's going on within the continent. We know how London has been very important as a host for many FinTech companies. But how is that now compared to the rest of Europe? Have you seen a slowdown in attractiveness there? What's going on? London's always going to be the most attractive city for FinTech. I think we're seeing in terms of countries France and Germany catch up. You know Germany accounted for about 14% of all the FinTech funding up from about 10% last year. France is about 7%. They're still paying catch up to the UK. The UK for instance was about 65% of all the funding last year. So it has come down a little bit. But still I think the place where you want to be is is really London. We are seeing government programs come into place in France and Germany to help fund managers invest in in this sector because it is a very important sector. And is that despite the fact that we are not seeing many of these companies IPO in the UK market? I'm thinking for instance about Klarna. Yeah. Look the IPO backlog is actually quite fascinating. If you look at Europe about 50% of the IPO backlog is actually FinTech. You have obviously Klarna that just went public. You had. But that doesn't mean they might list here. Yeah. Probably they won't. And I think that depends on a variety of different factors. You know how much liquidity there is in in the capital markets. Take a Revolut which is another good example of a business that is likely to go public. The majority of its businesses here in Europe. The question is whether investors can handle that kind of demand from Revolut which is already valued at about 70 billion. There's also been quite a lot of message and to some extent some efforts from governments to attract more listings whether that's you know here in the UK or in other parts of Europe. And also there's an effort to make sure that retail investors are also taking part in this. I'm trying to understand whether when you hear all of this commentary and these measures whether what you're hearing is enough to make sure that perhaps we'll see a boost in activity here. Look I think the IPO market is always going to be challenging. And that is our view over here. And what we're seeing is a little bit more exciting on the M&A side. For instance Europe's mid market is about five times as large as its large cap market. So we're seeing companies aim for more than 100 to 500 million exits as opposed to kind of the unicorn outcomes which I think Europe is very very good at. When you think about A.I. there's a lot of talk about that. I mean it's our top story also today off the back of the announcement between NVIDIA and open AI. How is that actually developing when it comes to FinTech. You say that A.I. is here but how meaningfully is actually the case. Truth be told I think we're at a stage where it is still an enabling technology in FinTech. So as you saw with the NVIDIA deal with with open A.I. that's a large chunk of money to put into A.I. infrastructure. FinTech is not building A.I. infrastructure. It's leveraging A.I. infrastructure. So the amount of money you need to build FinTech enabled services is actually not that much in comparison to maybe the infrastructure plays out in the US. And so I don't think you'll see the large rounds of A.I. in FinTech. That doesn't mean you can't build A.I. enabled FinTech services.

Chipmaker Nvidia said it would invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, as part of a strategic partnership. CBS MoneyWatch correspondent Kelly O'Grady has more details.

Santa Clara

Nvidia to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI

For the first time in more than half a century, astronauts will soon be heading back to the moon. CBC's Nicole Mortillaro breaks down the preparations for the mission, Artemis II, which will send astronauts on a historic loop around the moon.

Houston

NASA prepares to send astronauts around the moon

U.S. President Donald Trump addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, where he pushed back on countries that have formally recognized a Palestinian state. Trump also touted U.S. immigration policy.

New York

Trump delivers address at U.N. General Assembly

Southern China and Hong Kong are bracing for Super Typhoon Ragasa as authorities evacuate hundreds of thousands of people. CBS News' Anna Coren has more details.

Hong Kong Island

Super Typhoon Ragasa targets Southern China, Hong Kong

Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to voluntarily maintain the limits on deployed strategic nuclear weapons set in the 2010 New START accord after it expires in February if the U.S. agreed to do the same.

Moscow

Putin offers Trump one-year extension to nuclear weapons treaty

President Trump announced Monday the FDA believes pregnant women should not take acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, claiming there could be a link between the medication and autism, despite objections from medical experts.

Washington

Trump, FDA tell pregnant women not to take Tylenol

ABC announced Monday that "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" will return to the air Tuesday night (September 23). The network pulled the show last week following a remark from Kimmel about the death of Charlie Kirk.

Los Angeles

Jimmy Kimmel returning to air

As leaders from around the globe come together at the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week, conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine continue to rage.

World leaders come together at UNGA as global tensions rise

Monday marks the second day of strike action after a similar walk-off was called on Sunday by the southern European country's largest trade union, the Italian Confederation of Labour (CGIL).

Rome

Middle East Conflict

Thousands strike across Italy in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza

The Trump administration is adding $100,000 to the existing fee for H-1B visa applications, taking aim at a program that is used to attract highly skilled workers to the U.S.

Trump administration to add $100,000 fee for H-1B visas

President Donald Trump urged Attorney General Pam Bondi in a social media post to move forward with cases against several people connected to the U.S. government. CBS News justice correspondent Scott MacFarlane has more.

Trump urges Pam Bondi to go after his political foes

Russia is denying that its planes entered Estonian airspace on Saturday, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, but Estonia's foreign minister is saying the government has "irrefutable evidence" of the incursion.

Ukraine Invasion

Russia denies violating Estonian airspace

U.S. President Donald Trump was the final speaker at a politically charged memorial service for conservative activist and MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk that also included words of forgiveness from Kirk’s widow as well as remarks from the vice-president and one of Trump’s sons.

Glendale

Trump closes out Charlie Kirk memorial

Media mogul Lachlan Murdoch and business leaders Larry Ellison and Michael Dell would be involved as U.S. investors in a proposed deal to keep TikTok operating in the United States, according to President Donald Trump speaking to Fox News channel.

Trump says Murdochs would be involved in TikTok deal

Portugal, the UK, Australia and Canada joined over 150 countries that now recognise a Palestinian state. The announcements come ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in the week ahead.

Lisbon

Portugal formally recognises Palestinian state

Police say a 23-year-old was arrested and charged Sunday night with second-degree murder after one person was killed and several others were injured in a shooting at a New Hampshire country club. Witnesses say the shooter said “free Palestine” and before opening fire.

Nashua

Suspect yelled 'free Palestine' before country club shooting

President Trump is demanding that the Justice Department go after his political rivals following a shakeup in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Eastern Virginia. Willie James Inman reports.

Trump pressuring Justice Department to pursue his political foes

President Trump, Vice President JD Vance and several others remembered Charlie Kirk at a memorial service in Arizona that was attended by thousands.

Phoenix

Trump, others remember Charlie Kirk at memorial service

The United Kingdom, Canada and Australia officially recognized Palestine as a state Sunday, a move that has long been opposed by the U.S. and Israel. More countries are expected to do the same this week as world leaders gather in New York for the U.N. General Assembly.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Israel continuing assault on Gaza after countries recognize Palestinian statehood

A group of US Republicans has sent a letter to France, Canada, the UK and Australia, urging them to re-consider their decision to recognise a Palestinian state.  It's warning there may be consequences if the countries move ahead with plan at the upcoming UN General Assembly.

US Republicans warn allies over decision to recognise Palestinian state

Britain, Canada and Australia all recognized a Palestinian state on Sunday (September 21) in a move borne out of frustration over the Gaza war and intended to promote a two-state solution, but which is also bound to anger Israel and its main ally, the U.S.

Britain, Canada and Australia all recognize Palestinian state

The President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, will address the UN on Monday, after the General Assembly voted to allow him to join remotely. The U.S. has refused to issue him a visa to attend in person.

UN approves video address by Palestine’s Abbas after U.S. visa refusal

Sixty nations have agreed to a new treaty aimed at protecting marine biodiversity in international waters. But the strength of the deal governing the high seas is uncertain as some of the world’s biggest players - including China, the U.S., Russia and Japan - have yet to ratify.

Nations ratify world's first treaty to protect international waters

A cyberattack on a provider of check-in and boarding systems has disrupted operations at several major European airports including London's Heathrow, the continent's busiest, causing flight delays and cancellations on Saturday (September 20).

London

Travelers stranded as cyberattack disrupts major European airports

The high seas will soon have their own Conference of the Parties (COP). This new body will oversee the implementation of the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, which is scheduled to enter into force in early 2026 after the legally required 120-day period.

Manhattan

Optus, Australia's second-largest telecom carrier, promised on Saturday "full cooperation" with official investigators, after an outage disrupted emergency call services for 13 hours. Four people died amid the technical failure, including an eight-week-old boy.

Melbourne

Telco vows to cooperate after deadly outage

Dozens more Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military offensive. Amid mounting international criticism of Israel, there has been a renewed push for a two-state solution, with Portugal being the latest advocate.

Two-state solution gains support as IDF moves on Gaza City

Charlie Kirk will be mourned in a massive public memorial in Phoenix, Ariz., on Sunday. With U.S. President Donald Trump and other top U.S. officials attending, the event is expected to bring significant security concerns.

Thousands set to attend Charlie Kirk's public memorial

Russia has launched more than 600 attacks on multiple cities across Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is renewing calls for more support, and warning allies that defending Europe means defending Ukraine.

Kyiv

Russia launches mass strikes across Ukraine

A cyberattack has disrupted air traffic at several airports in Europe. Check-in and boarding systems went down in London, Brussels and Berlin. Europe’s aviation safety organisation says airlines were asked to cancel 50% of their flights to reduce pressure on the system.

AI being enabled in fintech space: Finch Capital

Breakdown

See The Full Story

Rise of AI