FinTechs raised a record $39.57 billion from investors globally in 2018, up 120 per cent from the previous year, according to CB Insights.

Funding was raised through 1,707 deals - up from 1,480 in 2017 - due in large part to 52 ‘mega-rounds’, or investments larger than $100 million, which were worth $24.88 billion combined.

A $14 billion investment in Ant Financial, the payment affiliate of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, accounted for 35 per cent of total FinTech funding alone last year.

In the last three months of 2018, five companies became FinTech ‘unicorns’, or companies valued at more than $1 billion, including digital bank Monzo, credit card provider Brex and data aggregator Plaid.

While the investment surge led to new unicorns being created and funding reaching a record high, CB Insights estimated that these trends will likely delay initial public offerings.

“IPO activity is likely to remain lacklustre in 2019,” the data analysis firm stated.

Asia saw the biggest increase in the number of deals in 2018, growing 38 per cent from the previous year to a record $22.65 billion.

In the United States, FinTechs raised a record $11.89 billion through 659 investments, while the number of deals dropped in Europe, although funding reached a record $3.53 billion.

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