UAE defies fintech slowdown with a 92% jump in funding — against a global plunge of 48%
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.
“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.
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.
The Hims app arranged on a smartphone in New York on Feb. 12, 2025.
Gabby Jones | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Hims & Hers Health shares closed up 5% on Tuesday after the company announced patients can access Eli Lilly‘s weight loss medication Zepbound and diabetes drug Mounjaro, as well as the generic injection liraglutide, through its platform.
Zepbound, Mounjaro and liraglutide are part of the class of weight loss medications called GLP-1s, which have exploded in popularity in recent years. Hims & Hers launched a weight loss program in late 2023, but its GLP-1 offerings have evolved as the company has contended with a volatile supply and regulatory environment.
Lilly’s weekly injections Zepbound and Mounjaro will cost patients $1,899 a month, according to the Hims & Hers website. The generic liraglutide will cost $299 a month, but it requires a daily injection and can be less effective than other GLP-1 medications.
“As we look ahead, we plan to continue to expand our weight loss offering to deliver an even more holistic, personalized experience,” Dr. Craig Primack, senior vice president of weight loss at Hims & Hers, wrote in a blog post.
A Lilly spokesperson said in a statement that the company has “no affiliation” with Hims & Hers and noted that Zepbound is available at lower costs for people who are insured for the product or for those who buy directly from the company.
In May, Hims & Hers started prescribing compounded semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk‘s GLP-1 weight loss medications Ozempic and Wegovy. The offering was immensely popular and helped generate more than $225 million in revenue for the company in 2024.
But compounded drugs can traditionally only be mass produced when the branded medications treatments are in shortage. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced in February that the shortage of semaglutide injections products had been resolved.
That meant Hims & Hers had to largely stop offering the compounded medications, though some consumers may still be able to access personalized doses if it’s clinically applicable.
During the company’s quarterly call with investors in February, Hims & Hers said its weight loss offerings will primarily consist of its oral medications and liraglutide. The company said it expects its weight loss offerings to generate at least $725 million in annual revenue, excluding contributions from compounded semaglutide.
But the company is still lobbying for compounded medications. A pop up on Hims & Hers’ website, which was viewed by CNBC, encourages users to “use your voice” and urge Congress and the FDA to preserve access to compounded treatments.
With Tuesday’s rally, Hims and Hers shares are up about 27% in 2025 after soaring 172% last year.
WATCH: Hims & Hers shares tumble over concerns around weight-loss business
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg holds a smartphone as he makes a keynote speech at the Meta Connect annual event at the company’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Sept. 25, 2024.
Manuel Orbegozo | Reuters
Meta’s head of artificial intelligence research announced Tuesday that she will be leaving the company.
Joelle Pineau, the company’s vice president of AI research, announced her departure in a LinkedIn post, saying her last day at the social media company will be May 30.
Her departure comes at a challenging time for Meta. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has made AI a top priority, investing billions of dollars in an effort to become the market leader ahead of rivals like OpenAI and Google.
Zuckerberg has said that it is his goal for Meta to build an AI assistant with more than 1 billion users and artificial general intelligence, which is a term used to describe computers that can think and take actions comparable to humans.
“As the world undergoes significant change, as the race for AI accelerates, and as Meta prepares for its next chapter, it is time to create space for others to pursue the work,” Pineau wrote. “I will be cheering from the sidelines, knowing that you have all the ingredients needed to build the best AI systems in the world, and to responsibly bring them into the lives of billions of people.”
Vice President of AI Research and Head of FAIR at Meta Joelle Pineau attends a technology demonstration at the META research laboratory in Paris on February 7, 2025.
Stephane De Sakutin | AFP | Getty Images
Pineau was one of Meta’s top AI researchers and led the company’s fundamental AI research unit, or FAIR, since 2023. There, she oversaw the company’s cutting-edge computer science-related studies, some of which are eventually incorporated into the company’s core apps.
She joined the company in 2017 to lead Meta’s Montreal AI research lab. Pineau is also a computer science professor at McGill University, where she is a co-director of its reasoning and learning lab.
Some of the projects Pineau helped oversee include Meta’s open-source Llama family of AI models and other technologies like the PyTorch software for AI developers.
Pineau’s departure announcement comes a few weeks ahead of Meta’s LlamaCon AI conference on April 29. There, the company is expected to detail its latest version of Llama. Meta Chief Product Officer Chris Cox, to whom Pineau reported to, said in March that Llama 4 will help power AI agents, the latest craze in generative AI. The company is also expected to announce a standalone app for its Meta AI chatbot, CNBC reported in February.
“We thank Joelle for her leadership of FAIR,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement. “She’s been an important voice for Open Source and helped push breakthroughs to advance our products and the science behind them.”
Pineau did not reveal her next role but said she “will be taking some time to observe and to reflect, before jumping into a new adventure.”
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