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Europe’s fintech sector is fiercely competitive, with privately-held start-ups worth tens of billions of dollars vying to steal market share from incumbent banks.

Oscar Wong | Moment | Getty Images

The fintech industry saw more pain in 2023, with overall investment falling by half as higher interest rates and worsening macroeconomic conditions caused investors to tighten their belts, according to global investment figures shared exclusively with CNBC.

The data from Innovate Finance, a financial technology industry body, shows that investment in fintechs last year sank $51.2 billion, down 48% from 2022 when total investment in the sector totaled $99 billion. The total number of fintech fundraising deals also sank considerably, to 3,973 in 2023 from 6,397 in 2022 — a 61% drop.

Still, despite that drop, there was one standout performer on Innovate Finance’s list when it came to funding: the United Arab Emirates. According to Innovate Finance, the UAE saw total investment soar 92% in 2023, thanks in part to more fintech-friendly regulations, and as adoption of digital banking and other tools expanded in the region.

That marks the first time the UAE has made it to the top 10 list of most well-funded fintech hubs in 2023, according to Innovate Finance. There were more Asian and Middle East countries in the top 10 last year than there were European nations, the group noted, as some major European economies slipped down the table, such as France and Germany.

“Some of the markets now adopting this technology, we’re seeing that reflected in investment numbers,” Innovate Finance CEO Janine Hirt told CNBC earlier this week. Hirt noted that the momentum in Asia and the Middle East offered an opportunity for the U.K. to boost cooperation and partnerships with countries in those regions. “We are seeing appetite and real momentum coming from a lot of hubs in Asia,” she said.

On the slowdown, Hirt noted that growth-stage companies were the most likely to be affected by the downturn in funding in 2023, whereas seed-stage and early-stage firms were more immune to those pressures.

Plaid CEO on the state of fintech

“If you’re a later-stage company, you might not be going out for a raise right now,” Innovate Finance’s CEO said, adding that early-stage fintechs had a better time in the market last year raising about $4 billion. “That’s a really positive sign,” she added.

“What is a testament to the strength of our sector is that deal sizes are very, very healthy,” Hirt said. “Globally, and in the U.K., investment in seed, Series A and B fintechs has normalized, which is a testament to the strength of investors,” she added.

Financial technology has had its share of gloom over the past 12 months, amid intensifying conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Hamas, ongoing geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China, and broader uncertainties affecting financial markets, such as higher interest rates.

According to the International Monetary Fund, global economic growth is expected to slow to 3% in 2023 from 3.5% in 2022.

UK comes second to U.S.

Innovate Finance also noted that the U.K. was the second-biggest hub for fintech investment in 2023, with total funding for the country’s financial technology industry totaling $5.1 billion in 2023, down 63% from $13.9 billion in 2022.

The U.K. received more investment in fintech than the next 28 European countries combined, according to Innovate Finance.

QED Investors' Nigel Morris on IPO landscape in 2024

London fintechs pulled in $4.5 billion last year, with the city continuing to dominate when it comes to fintech funding in Europe more broadly.

However, the U.K.’s capital saw overall funding drop, too — down 56% from 2022.

Meanwhile, female-led fintechs in the U.K. bagged 59 deals year worth a combined $536 million, according to Innovate Finance, accounting for 10.5% of the U.K. total, which the organization called a “step forward” for women founders and leaders.

“I think, ultimately, the U.K. is still very much a global leader in fintech,” Hirt told CNBC. It’s the European leader.”

But, she added, “We can’t afford to rest on our laurels. It’s critical to build on the momentum we’ve had over the past few years. We need government support and regulation that is effective and efficient and proactive.”

“For us, a focus going forward is making sure we do have proper regulation in place that allows fintechs to thrive, and allows SMEs [small to medium-sized enterprises] across the country to benefit from these new innovations as well.”

“Cracking on with new regimes for stablecoins, regimes for crypto, open banking and finance — these are all areas we’re hopeful we’ll see progress in in 2024.”

The United States, unsurprisingly, was the biggest country for fintech investment, with total investment coming in at $24 billion, although funding levels remained down from 2022 as fintech firms raised 44% less in 2023 than they did a year ago.

India came in third after the U.K., with the country seeing fintech investment worth $2.5 billion last year, while Singapore was fourth with $2.2 billion of funding, and China was fifth on $1.8 billion.

The value of the top five biggest deals globally in 2023 was over $9 billion, or about 18% of total global investment in the space.

Stripe pulled in the most amount of cash raising $6.9 billion, according to the data, while Rapyd, Xpansiv, BharatPe, and Ledger won the second, third, fourth, and fifth-biggest investment deals, respectively.

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CNBC Daily Open: Beauty is in the eye of the U.S. jobs report beholder

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CNBC Daily Open: Beauty is in the eye of the U.S. jobs report beholder

Business representatives staff a table at a career fair in Harlem hosted by Assemblymember Jordan Wright on Dec. 10, 2025, in New York City.

Spencer Platt | Getty Images

The U.S. November jobs report has something for everybody.

Those convinced of weakness will highlight the higher-than-expected unemployment rate as well as the number of jobs shrinking in October.

On the other hand, proponents of a strong economy will focus on jobs growth in November beating estimates, and point out that the increase in the unemployment rate was mostly because the labor force grew, as CNBC’s Jeff Cox noted.

Without any definitive judgment that can be made on the state of the labor market, traders left their bets on interest rate cuts in January mostly unchanged. It’s currently at 25.5%, around one percentage point higher than before the release of the November jobs report, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

“Today’s data paints a picture of an economy catching its breath,” said Gina Bolvin, president at Bolvin Wealth Management Group. “Job growth is holding on, but cracks are forming. Consumers are still standing, but not sprinting.”

That ambivalence was reflected in markets as well. Major U.S. indexes were mixed: The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.24% and 0.62% respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite registered a mild gain of 0.23%, thanks to Tesla stock closing at an all-time high.

Whether you’re a bull or a bear, Tuesday’s tea leaves will show you what you want to see — but beware confirmation bias.

What you need to know today

And finally…

A general view looking past Tower Bridge toward Residential and commercial skyscrapers in Canary Wharf on June 26, 2025 in London, United Kingdom.

John Keeble | Getty Images News | Getty Images

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OpenAI in talks with Amazon about investment that could exceed $10 billion

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OpenAI in talks with Amazon about investment that could exceed  billion

Sam Altman, chief executive officer of OpenAI Inc., during a media tour of the Stargate AI data center in Abilene, Texas, US, on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025.

Kyle Grillot | Bloomberg | Getty Images

OpenAI is in discussions with Amazon about a potential investment and an agreement to use its artificial intelligence chips, CNBC confirmed on Tuesday.

The details are fluid and still subject to change but the investment could exceed $10 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the talks are confidential. The Information first reported on the potential deal.

The discussions come after OpenAI completed a restructuring in October and formally outlined the details of its partnership with Microsoft, giving it more freedom to raise capital and partner with companies across the broader AI ecosystem.

Microsoft has invested more than $13 billion in OpenAI and backed the company since 2019, but it no longer has a right of first refusal to be OpenAI’s compute provider, according to an October release. OpenAI can now also develop some products with third parties.

Amazon has invested at least $8 billion into OpenAI rival Anthropic, but the e-commerce giant could be looking to expand its exposure to the booming generative AI market. Microsoft has taken a similar step and announced last month that it will invest up to $5 billion into Anthropic, while Nvidia will invest up to $10 billion in the startup.

Amazon Web Services has been designing its own AI chips since around 2015, and the hardware has become crucial for AI companies that are trying to train models and meet growing demand for compute. AWS announced its Inferentia chips in 2018, and the latest generation of its Trainium chips earlier this month.

OpenAI has made more than $1.4 trillion of infrastructure commitments in recent months, including agreements with chipmakers Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom. Last month, OpenAI signed a deal to buy $38 billion worth of capacity from AWS, its first contract with the leader in cloud infrastructure leader.

In October, OpenAI finalized a secondary share sale totaling $6.6 billion, allowing current and former employees to sell stock at a $500 billion valuation.

WATCH: Oracle says there have been ‘no delays’ in OpenAI arrangement after stock slide

Oracle says there have been 'no delays' in OpenAI arrangement after stock slide

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Shares of Chinese chipmaker MetaX soar nearly 700% in blockbuster Shanghai debut

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Shares of Chinese chipmaker MetaX soar nearly 700% in blockbuster Shanghai debut

Narumon Bowonkitwanchai | Moment | Getty Images

Shares of Chinese chipmaker MetaX Integrated Circuits soared about 700% in their market debut in Shanghai on Wednesday, after the company raised nearly $600 million in its initial public offering.

Shares, which were priced at 104.66 yuan in the IPO, surged to over 835 yuan on debut, marking a 697% jump.

Similar to Moore Threads, which saw a robust debut at the start of the month, MetaX develops graphics processing units for artificial intelligence applications, tapping into a fast-growing sector driven by rising adoption of AI services.

MetaX is part of a growing cohort of local chipmakers building AI processors, reflecting Beijing’s push to reduce dependence on U.S. chips following Washington’s tech curbs on export of high-end technology to China.

Washington has imposed export curbs on U.S. chip behemoth Nvidia, barring sales of its most advanced AI chips to China.

Newer Chinese players such as Enflame Technology and Biren Technology have also entered the AI space, aiming to capture a share of the billions in graphics processing unit, or GPU, demand no longer served by Nvidia. Chinese regulators have also been clearing more semiconductor IPOs in their drive for greater AI independence.

Earlier this month, shares of Moore Threads, a Beijing-based GPU manufacturer often referred to as “China’s Nvidia,” soared by more than 400% on its debut in Shanghai following its $1.1 billion listing.

Macquarie’s equity analyst Eugene Hsiao said investor enthusiasm around Chinese AI-chip IPOs such as MetaX is partly shaped by longer-term expectations that China will build a self-sufficient semiconductor ecosystem as tensions with the U.S. persist.

“For that to work, you need these players. You need names like Moore Threads, Meta X, etc,” he said.

“So I think when investors are looking at these IPOs, they implicitly are thinking about the nationalistic element,” Hsiao noted, adding that the main driver of the frenzy, however, was the firms’ growth potential.

— CNBC’s Dylan Butts contributed to this article.

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