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- 📈 Checkout.com: From Unicorn to Workhorse
📈 Checkout.com: From Unicorn to Workhorse
This is Cliff Equity, the UK’s business newsletter that keeps you informed on what’s important in tech, business and finance in less than 5 minutes
In today’s stories:
Checkout.com: From Unicorn to Workhorse
£300m Telent Takeover: Stakes Skyrocket
Jentic Nabs €4M to Tame AI Chaos
The summary: Checkout.com’s tumble from fintech darling to a leaner, sharper operator is a masterclass in weathering market twists, ditching crypto distractions, and doubling down on e-commerce smarts to stay in the game.
The details:
From riches to rags (kind of): Checkout.com slashed its losses from a hefty $138 million in 2022 to a more palatable $6 million in 2023, but that didn’t stop its valuation from tumbling—from a dazzling $40 billion to a more modest $9.35 billion.
Bye-bye Binance: Revenue dropped to $212 million, down from $246 million, thanks to the loss of a major merchant partner—goodbye, Binance—and a shift away from crypto to focus on e-commerce and fintech partners.
Staffing shuffle: A jaw-dropping 72% reduction in employees saw numbers plummet from 1,032 to just 284, with tech and product roles hit hardest (508 to 99), followed by corporate (269 to 50).
Still a payment powerhouse: Founded by Swiss entrepreneur Guillaume Pousaz, Checkout.com powers payments in 150+ currencies for top players like Netflix, Klarna, and Pizza Hut. Its flexible solutions remain a lifeline for global commerce—crypto shake-ups aside.
Why it matters: Checkout.com’s wild ride shows just how quickly fintech fortunes can flip, even for a unicorn once worth $40 billion. With crypto proving more headache than hero, its pivot to e-commerce and fintech partners signals where the real money is flowing. The brutal headcount cuts and shrinking revenue are cautionary tales for startups chasing scale at all costs—because even the flashiest payment processor isn’t immune to market reality checks.
The summary: The race to snap up Telent pits a revitalised Amey—backed by Lord Hammond—against fierce rivals, blending big-money ambition, digital infrastructure drama, and a touch of British industrial nostalgia.
The details:
Lord Hammond-backed Amey has thrown its hat in the ring for Telent, a digital infrastructure provider, with bids rumored to exceed £300m.
Once floundering financially, Amey’s fortunes turned after a 2022 private equity rescue and a recent refinancing supported by heavyweights like HSBC and JP Morgan.
Telent, a former Marconi gem now owned by JC Flowers, offers telecom services and could be scooped up by one of Amey’s rivals in a hotly contested bidding war.
With a colourful past and illustrious connections, both companies are keeping Britain’s business gossip mill churning.
Why it matters: The tussle over Telent highlights the high stakes in Britain’s digital infrastructure game, where billions hinge on who keeps the country connected. Amey’s resurgence from financial woes to serious contender proves there’s life after near-death in the corporate world—especially with Lord Hammond’s clout in the mix. And let’s not forget Telent’s Marconi pedigree; it’s a battle over a slice of history as much as the future.
The summary: Jentic, a Dublin-based startup with a crack team and €4 million in funding, is set to bring much-needed order to the AI world by creating the ultimate integration layer that lets developers and execs alike keep their AI systems running like clockwork.
The details:
Funding Bonanza: Irish startup Jentic has bagged €4 million in pre-seed funding led by Elkstone, with a host of tech angels joining the party. The cash will fuel team growth, speed up product development, and bring their AI integration layer to life.
Star-Studded Founders: Based in Dublin, Jentic's founding dream team includes Sean Blanchfield (PageFair & DemonWare fame), Dorothy Creaven (Rent The Runway alum), Michael Cordner (Mindconnex co-founder), and Dr. Tilman Schaefer (DemonWare pioneer).
Bridging AI Chatter: Jentic’s middleware lets developers plug AI agents into other systems effortlessly, while execs get a bird’s-eye view of operations. It's the connective tissue uniting AI's booming ecosystem, from Big Tech's creations to bespoke in-house agents.
Big Vision, Bigger Backers: Co-founder Sean Blanchfield calls it “the future of automation,” while Elkstone sings praises for its game-changing potential. Jentic’s goal? To make deploying advanced AI a smooth, secure, and scalable endeavour.
Why it matters: Jentic is positioning itself as the unsung hero of the AI revolution, solving the pesky problem of getting AI systems to actually talk to each other without causing chaos. With a dream team of serial tech founders and a funding boost, they're on track to streamline AI integration for developers, while making life easier for executives who just want things to run smoothly. In other words, Jentic’s mission to bring order to the AI jungle is precisely what the tech world needs before everything goes full Skynet.
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