The world of fintech is abuzz with innovative solutions and significant developments. This week, we're highlighting a startup that's tackling the complex issue of long-term care planning with the help of artificial intelligence. Additionally, we're covering a major acquisition in African mobility fintech, funding rounds for several fintech companies, and more.

Lily Vittayarukskul, the founder of Waterlily, was inspired to create her startup after her family faced significant financial burdens while caring for her aunt with terminal colon cancer. Waterlily uses AI to predict a family's future long-term care needs and costs, guiding them in building a care plan and figuring out the right way to finance it. The company's approach has already resonated with early investors, including Evan Ehrenberg, who joined Waterlily as a co-founder after being impressed by the platform's predictions.

In other news, Uber-backed Moove, an Africa-born mobility fintech, has acquired Kovi, a Brazilian urban mobility provider. This deal is expected to increase Moove's annual revenue to $275 million, up from $115 million in March. Moove's co-founder and co-CEO, Ladi Delano, expressed excitement about the acquisition, which will further expand the company's presence across six continents.

Formance, a fintech company, has raised $21 million in funding, with PayPal Ventures and Portage co-leading the round. Formance is building a modular platform that allows customers to use a single service or house all their cloud infrastructure under the same roof, similar to Amazon Web Services' approach. This funding will help the company further develop its platform and expand its customer base.

French embedded banking startup Swan has raised an additional €42 million (approximately $44 million) in funding, which the company considers the second part of its Series B round announced in September 2023. This investment will enable Swan to continue growing its business and expanding its services.

Cedar Money, a cross-border payment platform using stablecoins, has closed $9.9 million in seed funding led by QED Investors. The company, which launched in early 2024, is focused on facilitating payments in and out of Africa. Meanwhile, Guinea-based fintech Cauridor has raised $3.5 million in seed funding to continue building its payment rails for merchants, banks, telecom operators, and money transfer companies.

In regulatory news, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has fined U.K.-based remittance company Wise approximately $2 million for a series of illegal actions. Additionally, fintech startup Cushion, which described itself as the "Plaid for buy now, pay later (BNPL)," has shut down due to failing to reach the scale needed to sustain its business.

Elon Musk-owned social network X has announced a partnership with Visa to handle person-to-person payments for its upcoming X Money product. In other news, health insurance company Alan, which aims to become a digital companion for users' health, has reached 700,000 customers and continues to grow like a startup. Serial entrepreneur Victor D. Lombard, also known as DIVINE, has launched a new fintech company for musicians in partnership with RAKIM, a renowned hip-hop emcee.

Finally, the rise of stablecoins, now a $205 billion market, is driven by real-world utility, particularly in emerging markets where the most compelling use cases are unfolding. This trend is expected to continue shaping the fintech landscape in the coming years.

Stay tuned for more fintech news and updates, and follow us on X @bayareawriter for breaking news, insights, and more.