Author: Christian Amanpour

An image provided by Pindrop Security shows a fake job candidate the company dubbed “Ivan X,” a scammer using deepfake AI technology to mask his face, according to Pindrop CEO Vijay Balasubramaniyan.Courtesy: Pindrop SecurityWhen voice authentication startup Pindrop Security posted a recent job opening, one candidate stood out from hundreds of others.The applicant, a Russian coder named Ivan, seemed to have all the right qualifications for the senior engineering role. When he was interviewed over video last month, however, Pindrop’s recruiter noticed that Ivan’s facial expressions were slightly out of sync with his words.That’s because the candidate, whom the firm…

Seksan Mongkhonkhamsao | Moment | Getty ImagesFrench accounting software firm Pennylane has doubled its valuation to 2 billion euros ($2.16 billion) in a new 75 million euro funding round.Pennylane told CNBC that it raised the fresh funds from a host of venture funds, with Sequoia Capital leading the round and Alphabet’s CapitalG, Meritech and DST Global also participating.Founded in 2020, Pennylane sells what it calls an “all-in-one” accounting platform that’s used by accountants and other financial professionals.The platform is primarily targeted toward small to medium-sized firms, offering tools for functions spanning expensing, invoicing, cash flow management and financial forecasting.”We came…

Igor Golovniov | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesAffirm shares have plunged nearly 30% in the past two trading days and are on track to close out their second-worst week on record, following President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff announcement on Wednesday.Widespread tariffs could represent a particular problem for Affirm, because the provider of buy now, pay later loans is reliant on consumer spending, and economists expect prices to rise on all sorts of goods. The news got worse on Friday when Affirm rival Klarna delayed its long-anticipated IPO due to market volatility.Klarna had planned to debut on the New…

Fintech is seen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Feb. 13, 2025.  Danielle DeVries | CNBCThe global market rout on Thursday, sparked by President Donald Trump’s announcement of widespread tariffs, had an outsized impact on fintech companies and credit card issuers that are closely tied to consumer spending and credit.Affirm, which offers buy now, pay later purchasing options, plunged 19%, while stock trading app Robinhood slid 10% and payments company PayPal fell 8%. American Express and Capital One each tumbled 10%, and Discover was down more than 8%.President Trump on Wednesday laid out the U.S. “reciprocal tariff” rates…

Romain Costaseca | Afp | Getty ImagesAs crypto prices rallied to record highs last year, venture investors piled into new bitcoin-related startups.The number of pre-seed transactions in the market climbed 50% in 2024, according to a report published Thursday from Trammell Venture Partners. The data indicates that more entrepreneurs entered the bitcoin arena despite a cautious funding environment for the broader tech startup universe.Bitcoin more than doubled in value last year, while ethereum rose by more than 40%. Early in the year, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved exchange-traded funds that invest directly in bitcoin and then extended the rule…

Eric Trump says his family was “the most canceled company, probably on Earth.”That was then. With his dad, President Donald Trump, back in the White House, he sees a new money-making opportunity. “It actually is what drove us toward cryptocurrency,” the president’s middle son told CNBC, referring to the Trump family’s latest business endeavors. “You realize that cryptocurrency was a lot faster, it was a lot more pragmatic, it was a lot more transparent, it was exponentially cheaper.”In 2022, about two years after the end of President Trump’s first term, two subsidiaries of the Trump Organization were convicted by a…

Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder and CEO, Circle David A. Grogan | CNBCCircle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin, has filed for an initial public offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.The S1 lays the groundwork for Circle’s long-anticipated entry into the public markets.While the filing does not yet disclose the number of shares or a price range, sources told Fortune that Circle plans to move forward with a public filing in late April and is targeting a market debut as early as June.JPMorgan Chase and Citi are reportedly serving as lead underwriters, and the company is seeking a valuation between $4…

Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO of Klarna, speaking at a fintech event in London on Monday, April 4, 2022.Chris Ratcliffe | Bloomberg via Getty ImagesLONDON — After 20 years in the role as Klarna’s CEO, Sebastian Siemiatkowski is about to face his toughest test yet as the financial technology firm prepares for its blockbuster debut in New York.Siemiatkowski, 43, co-founded Klarna in 2005 with fellow Swedish entrepreneurs Niklas Adalberth and Victor Jacobsson with the aim of taking on traditional banks and credit card firms with a more user-friendly online payments experience.Today, Klarna is synonymous with “buy now, pay later” — a method…

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev is betting that by rolling out a large enough portfolio of digital investment products, more consumers will be willing to pay a monthly subscription for its product suite.Subscribers to Robinhood Gold pay $5 a month or $50 a year for perks like 4% interest on uninvested cash, access to professional research, and no interest on the first $1,000 of margin borrowed.Now the company is adding wealth management features called Robinhood Strategies, which offers curated access to exchange-traded fund portfolios and mixes of handpicked stocks. The service, available to Gold Subscribers, carries a 0.25% annual management fee,…

Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesRipple and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have reached an agreement to end their long-running legal battle. Following last week’s news that the SEC would drop its appeal without conditions, Ripple has now agreed to withdraw its cross-appeal, Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty said on X Tuesday.The SEC will retain $50 million of the previously imposed $125 million fine — funds already held in an escrow account, Alderoty said. The remaining balance will be returned to Ripple.Additionally, Alderoty said the agency will request that the court lift the standard injunction currently in place.The…