This week’s edition brings together the sharper edges of financial innovation: Samarth Shekhar’s expert analysis of the companies reshaping underwriting, enterprise security, AR automation, and mortgage operations — and a conversation with Doni Hoti, co-founder and CEO of Adclear, on building AI that keeps creative ambition in step with regulatory trust. From vertical AI in insurance to the rise of MCP security and next-generation AR automation, this issue maps the tools defining the next chapter of financial infrastructure.
A Q&A with Doni Hoti from Adclear on Reinventing Compliance for Modern Finance
In a sector where innovation often collides with regulation, few founders embody the balancing act as sharply as Doni Hoti. Raised in the fast-paced reality of a family business and later shaped by a career in finance, he has channelled both worlds into Adclear — a platform redefining how regulated brands create and approve marketing content.
From tackling the bottlenecks of compliance to enabling global teams to move with unprecedented speed, his vision reflects the new frontier of AI-powered governance in financial services.
1- Tell us a bit about yourself, and how you got the idea for your company.
I was raised in a family business, working in the restaurant my parents set up after they moved to the UK from Kosovo, so entrepreneurship is something I learnt early on. It was more than just a Saturday job for me. Me and my brother picked up the reins when my parents struggled with the language barrier, and got used to dealing with banks and handling business operations. Then, after university, I built a career for myself in the finance world. But I soon got an itch to put my entrepreneurial skills I’d learnt working in the restaurant to use.
The manual nature of compliance review processes was highlighted by my childhood best friend Joe, whose family member worked in the industry. Together, we saw how AI could help avoid repetitive feedback and transform back-and-forth review processes burdening compliance and marketing teams alike. This led us to launch Adclear in 2024.
Read more from the interview here: Adclear on Building the AI Compliance Partner
Deal Highlights
by @Samarth Shekhar
Underwriting tech for business insurance seems like a crowded space, but this is a large market that is still quite pen-and-paper based, mainly addressing larger corporates. I am looking forward to hear more about Pibit’s USP, and their plans for Europe.
InsurTech Pibit AI bags $7m to scale underwriting tech…The company says its systems give insurers a way to manage the fragmented, inconsistent data that often slows underwriting and complicates policy decisions. The company claims clients in the US have already seen underwriting times improve significantly through the platform, and it is exploring potential expansion into Europe over the medium term. Speaking on the news, Agarwal said, “We are building a vertical AI for a very specific niche of business insurance in the US. The data sits messy, fragmented, not predictable, not neat. No one in the market held a real system for this problem. Pibit claims it built one.”
Much like why robbers go to banks (“because that’s where the money is”), the MCP is the new power center and attack surface in the new world of AI agents within enterprises. Compromising the MCP means compromising the entire agent fleet and the downstream tooling they control. Will be exciting to watch the rise of MCPs and of Runlayer.
Runlayer raises $11m to secure enterprise MCP tools…Runlayer specialises in helping organisations manage the growing security risks associated with MCP, a rapidly adopted standard that enables AI systems to connect directly to tools, systems and production data. With more than 18,000 MCP servers now active, the company highlights that around 10% are malicious, while many more are easily exploitable. The firm argues that enterprise teams currently lack sufficient visibility and control over how AI tools interact with sensitive systems, leaving businesses with a stark choice between blocking MCP entirely or accepting significant operational risk.
Accounts receivables are at the heart of business and financial operations. Smaller businesses suffer the most with long days sales outstanding, and are ill-equipped to handle AR this manually, and Stuut could be a killer app.
Stuut Technologies launches AR automation after $29.5m raise. Stuut Technologies addresses a major pain point: companies can lose up to 5% of EBITDA because AR teams spend substantial time manually chasing customers, navigating portals, and matching payments. “The technology to actually automate this work didn’t exist 18 months ago when we started Stuut. We can now handle exceptions and complexity, learn from each interaction, work across disconnected systems, and execute tasks end-to-end. Previous solutions help humans click buttons faster. We eliminate the clicking entirely and are helping brands collect millions more in previously lost revenue.”
Read on for more on the founders and investors in the news last week. If you are building or backing “what’s next in finance” and want to spread the word with our network of 20K+, reach out to Samarth Shekhar or Frank Schwab.
VENTURE FINANCING
InsurTech Pibit AI bags $7m to scale underwriting tech
InsurTech startup Pibit AI, which builds AI-powered underwriting technology for insurers, has secured $7m in fresh funding as it looks to accelerate development of its platform and expand its team.
The funding round was led by Stellaris Venture Partners, with returning investors Y Combinator and Arali Ventures also participating, according to beinsure.
The latest injection brings Pibit AI’s total capital raised to $7.5m across two rounds, according to the company.
Founded in 2020 by Akash Agarwal, the company has grown steadily in the background but is now drawing more attention as it sharpens its focus on the US insurance market.
Pibit AI develops underwriting technology designed to help insurers analyse risk and produce pricing decisions more efficiently.
https://fintech.global/2025/11/21/insurtech-pibit-ai-bags-7m-to-scale-underwriting-tech/
Runlayer raises $11m to secure enterprise MCP tools
Runlayer has raised $11m to expand its platform as demand for safe AI integration intensifies across industry.
The company has secured $11m in a seed round led by Keith Rabois at Khosla Ventures, with participation from Felicis. Additional supporters advising the firm include David Soria Parra, the Co-Creator of MCP at Anthropic, and Travis McPeak, the Head of Security at Cursor. AI-native companies such as Gusto and Opendoor are already using Runlayer’s technology in production.
Runlayer specialises in helping organisations manage the growing security risks associated with MCP, a rapidly adopted standard that enables AI systems to connect directly to tools, systems and production data.
https://fintech.global/2025/11/24/runlayer-raises-11m-to-secure-enterprise-mcp-tools/
Tidalwave raises $22m to scale AI mortgage automation
Tidalwave has raised $22m in a Series A round as the company looks to accelerate its reach across the U.S. lending market.
The round was led by Permanent Capital, with participation from D.R. Horton, Inc., and follow-on backing from Engineering Capital. This latest investment brings the company’s total funding to $24m.
The funding round marks a significant step for the company, which aims to modernise one of the most manual and fragmented parts of the U.S. financial system. Tidalwave operates in the mortgage technology sector, deploying autonomous software agents to streamline end-to-end tasks such as verification and underwriting. Its model is designed to support lenders struggling with outdated workflows that continue to rely on manual data entry and disconnected systems.
https://fintech.global/2025/11/24/tidalwave-raises-22m-to-scale-ai-mortgage-automation/
Stuut Technologies launches AR automation after $29.5m raise
Stuut Technologies, the AI accounts receivable automation company, has secured $29.5m in a combined Series A round.
The investment was led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Activant Capital, Khosla Ventures, 1984.vc, Page One Ventures, Vesey Ventures, Carya Venture Partners, and Valley Ventures.
As part of the investment, Seema Amble of Andreessen Horowitz and Steve Sarracino of Activant Capital will join the company’s board.
The funding aims to accelerate Stuut’s product development while expanding its autonomous AR capabilities for mid-market and enterprise clients across six core functions: collections, payments, cash application, deductions, credits, and disputes.
https://fintech.global/2025/11/21/stuut-technologies-launches-ar-automation-after-29-5m-raise/
Numerai lands $30m to scale AI-powered hedge fund
Numerai, an investment firm that builds its portfolio using machine learning models and crowdsourced data science, has secured fresh capital of $30m.
The investment was led by several major university endowments, with participation from existing backers Union Square Ventures, Shine Capital and Paul Tudor Jones. The deal places Numerai at a $500m valuation, marking a five-fold increase since its previous valuation in 2023.
Numerai operates an AI-powered hedge fund that aggregates insights from thousands of data scientists around the world. Its platform blends these models into what it calls a “Meta Model”, which informs trading strategies across global equities. The firm has been known for its unconventional approach to investment management, combining crowdsourced intelligence, cryptographic incentives and machine learning.
https://fintech.global/2025/11/24/numerai-lands-30m-to-scale-ai-powered-hedge-fund/
Blackstone backs Norm Ai with fresh $50m investment
Norm Ai has secured a new investment of $50m from global asset manager Blackstone as it deepens its focus on AI-driven legal services.
The firm has raised $50m from Blackstone, channelled through Blackstone Innovations Investments and funds affiliated with Blackstone Growth. This additional capital reflects the expansion of an already established relationship between the two organisations.
Norm Ai provides legal and compliance automation tools used by global banks, hedge funds, insurers, and other major asset managers. Its platform is designed to help in-house legal and compliance teams manage regulated content review and other high-volume processes by converting complex legal frameworks into workflows supported by AI agents.
https://fintech.global/2025/11/21/blackstone-backs-norm-ai-with-fresh-50m-investment/
Pay.com.au raises AUD$53m to boost global expansion
Pay.com.au, the Australian payments and rewards platform serving businesses across the country, has secured AUD$53m in fresh capital.
The company confirmed that the capital event, worth AUD$53m, was led by Morgans Corporate Limited and combines AUD$25m in new capital with AUD$28m raised through a secondary sell-down, claims Financial IT.
Investors are backing pay.com.au as it builds scale, with plans to expand locally and pursue new opportunities in the US, supported by partners including Amex.
Pay.com.au operates an end-to-end payments and rewards platform designed to help businesses earn value on everyday expenses. Its model, centred on PayRewards, enables users to earn points on a wide range of outgoings that traditionally do not generate rewards.
https://fintech.global/2025/11/24/pay-com-au-raises-aud53m-to-boost-global-expansion/
Model ML secures $75m to expand AI workflow product
Model ML, the global AI workflow automation platform for financial services, has raised $75m in a Series A round led by FT Partners.
Significant participation also came from Y Combinator, QED, 13Books, Latitude and LocalGlobe. The raise comes just six months after the firm’s seed round and only twelve months after launch.
Use of proceeds from the round will focus on accelerating global expansion and deepening the company’s AI capabilities across key financial hubs. Model ML plans to build onboarding and customer success teams across San Francisco, New York, London and Hong Kong to support rising enterprise adoption.
https://fintech.global/2025/11/24/model-ml-secures-75m-to-expand-ai-workflow-product/
Capital on Tap closes £500m deal to boost SMB credit
Capital on Tap has announced the completion of its third asset-backed securitisation, “London Cards 3,” a £500m funding package backed by its credit card receivables.
The company said the new product was launched to secure scalable, long-term funding at a time when traditional lenders are tightening credit conditions. This allows Capital on Tap to strengthen its support for small businesses, ensuring they can continue accessing credit despite wider market challenges.
Capital on Tap, which provides SMBs with business credit cards, spend management tools and funding solutions, has grown its portfolio to more than 200,000 small business customers across the UK. The firm has positioned itself as an essential partner for entrepreneurs seeking quick and accessible credit options.
https://fintech.global/2025/11/21/capital-on-tap-closes-500m-deal-to-boost-smb-credit/
Revolut secures $75bn valuation after new fundraise
Revolut, a global FinTech leader with over 65 million customers, has completed a major share sale that values the company at $75bn.
The latest share sale was undertaken to provide liquidity for employees and to strengthen Revolut’s relationships with a group of leading global investors. The company noted that the transaction enables its team to benefit directly from value creation, reinforcing its aim to run one of the most liquid employee share programmes among private companies.
Revolut, founded to create a borderless financial super-app, offers a broad range of services spanning payments, savings, trading and international money management.
https://fintech.global/2025/11/24/revolut-secures-75bn-valuation-after-new-fundraise/
As AI rewires the foundations of financial services, each of these companies offers a glimpse of what disciplined innovation looks like: targeted, resilient and built for scale. Whether it’s securing new enterprise standards, modernising core financial workflows, or redefining compliance itself, the momentum is unmistakable. Thanks for reading — and as always, stay close to the conversations shaping the future of finance.