MrBeast Trademark Filing Reveals Plans to Turn His 447 Million Subscribers Into Neobank Customers
We're also covering Revolut's AI travel agent acquisition 🇬🇧, Plata's $250M raising at $3.1B valuation 🇲🇽, Upgrade's $7.3B valuation 🇺🇸 & Chari's $12M Series A to scale merchant super-app 🇲🇦
🇺🇸 Jimmy Donaldson, The World’s Top YouTuber, Just Filed a Trademark For a Banking App
Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast and YouTube’s most popular creator with 447 million subscribers, has filed a trademark for what appears to be a neobank.
According to a US Patent and Trademark Office filing on October 13 under Beast Holdings LLC, the application lists downloadable software for short-term cash advances, consumer lending, investment management, and financial education. It also covers services related to cryptocurrency exchange, decentralized trading (DEX), and credit and debit card issuance.
While the there is huge gap between a trademark application and bank license application, the filing seems to indicate Jimmy Donaldson is preparing the launch of a neobank in the US.
The development follows a Business Insider report from March citing a leaked investor pitch deck that suggested MrBeast was exploring financial services.
Donaldson is no stranger to fintech. As previously featured in GFI’s Top 40 Celebrity Fintech Investors, he has backed Current, a neobank for teens and young adults, and invested in crypto ventures such as NFT platform Refinable (acquired by Artifact Labs) and crypto wallet company Bitski (acquired by Phantom).
Sources: Newsweek, Business Insider & Global Fintech Insider
🇬🇧 Revolut Snaps Up German AI Travel Agent Startup
UK-based neobank Revolut has acquired Swifty, a German AI travel agent startup, to ramp up its AI assistant capabilities. Swifty uses AI agents to autonomously handle travel bookings through a conversational interface. The technology will be integrated into Revolut’s loyalty program.
Swifty’s co-founders Tomasz Przedmojski (left) and Stanislav Bondarenko (right) will join Revolut under the deal. Financial terms, however, were not disclosed.
“We’re gaining both talent and expertise in AI-driven travel solutions, which will help us deliver even more personalized and seamless experiences to our customers,” said Christopher Guttridge, Head of Loyalty at Revolut in a statement released by the company.
Revolut first entered travel services in 2021 with in-app accommodation booking and has since expanded to airline miles products and travel experience bookings like tour tickets.
Source: Sifted
🇲🇽 Mexican Plata Bags $250M, Hits $3.1B Valuation as It Gears Up to Become a Bank
Mexico-based neobank Plata has raised $250 million in fresh equity funding at a $3.1 billion valuation.
Plata received regulatory approval for a banking licence in December 2024 and is now completing final audits before operations begin. The licence will allow it to expand beyond credit cards into payroll, debit, and deposit services.
Plata, which started operations in 2023, is currently led by CEO Neri Tollardo. The company has grown from 100 to 3,000 employees and now serves over two million active users across Mexico.
It began operations by targeting Mexico’s vast and underserved population, offering services that range from Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) to cashback credit cards and mobile top-up credits.
The round follows a $160 million raise earlier this year in March.
Source: Bloomberg
🇺🇸 Online Lender Upgrade Now Valued at $7.3B Thanks to a $250M Pre-IPO Round
San Francisco-based online lender Upgrade has raised $165 million at a $7.3 billion valuation, building cash reserves ahead of a planned IPO within the next year.
“We were probably 12 to 18 months away from an IPO at this stage. So we wanted to go ahead and make sure everyone could sell a little bit of stock now without having to wait for the IPOm’’ said Upgrade Founder and CEO Renaud Laplanche to CNBC in an interview.
Founded in 2016 by the LendingClub founder, Upgrade began with small personal loans before expanding into checking and savings accounts, credit cards, credit monitoring, and buy now, pay later services.
Upgrade’s revenue has more than doubled since 2021, surpassing $1 billion in annualized revenue as of May.
Source: CNBC
🇺🇸 “Cable Cowboy” John Malone Among Backers Pumping $65M Into Handset Financing Company Glow
Cable mogul John Malone is among the backers who pumped in $65 million into phone financing company Glow Services Corp to help mobile operators offload the mounting debt tied to handset financing.
Glow partners with telecoms like BT Group and handset makers such as Samsung to provide point-of-sale loans for smartphones. It was founded in 2014 by Andrew Cole, a Liberty board member and GB News co-founder, and CEO Christiaan Ross.
The new funds will allow Glow to finance handset loans while carriers handle billing and collections, removing debt from operators’ balance sheets.
The round values the Miami-based firm at $325 million, led by Apollo Global Management with $35 million, Citigroup with $15 million, and $10 million from John Malone, known as the “Cable Cowboy” for his pioneering work in the cable TV industry, through his firm Silver Spur Capital.
Source: Bloomberg
🇲🇦 Moroccan eCommerce Startup Chari Raises $12M to Scale Super-App Across Africa
Moroccan ecommerce platform Chari has raised $12 million in Series A funding to scale its merchant superapp across Africa. Founded in 2020 by Ismael Belkhayat, Chari helps 15,000 merchants across Morocco, Tunisia, and Ivory Coast order supplies and access financial services through a single mobile platform. It recently secured a payment institution license from Morocco’s central bank, enabling it to offer debit cards, bill payments, and microinsurance.
The round was co-led by SPE Capital and Orange Ventures, with participation from Verod-Kepple, Global Founders Capital, UM6P Ventures, Axian Group, and other backers.
Source: Start Up Morocco
🇺🇸 LendingTree Founder and CEO Doug Lebda Dies in ATV Accident
Founder and CEO of US-based online lending marketplace LendingTree, Doug Lebda, died Sunday in an all-terrain vehicle accident at a family farm in North Carolina. He was 55.
Lebda founded LendingTree in 1996 after experiencing frustrations while shopping for his first mortgage. The platform, which was designed to “simplify the loan shopping process”, launched nationally in 1998 and went public in 2000. It was later acquired by IAC/InterActiveCorp before spinning off again in 2008. Chief Operating Officer and President Scott Peyree has been appointed CEO effective immediately, while Lead Independent Director Steve Ozonian will assume the role of board chairman.
Source: CNN
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Hi, my name is Julien Brault.
From 2017 to 2024, I was the CEO of Hardbacon, a fintech I co-founded, which reached 400,000 unique visitors at its peak.
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