Welcome back to The Interchange! If you want this in your inbox, sign up here. We’re back after a brief hiatus, with lots of fintech news, including Robinhood’s latest acquisition, Plaid’s newest product and a ChatGPT-powered AI tool that aims to help you save money on bills.
Robinhood’s motives
When Robinhood announced on June 22 that it was acquiring credit card startup X1 for $95 million, it caused all sorts of chatter in the fintech world.
Why would Robinhood want to buy a credit card startup? Did it get a good deal, considering that X1 has raised only $62 million over its lifetime? Did its investors get a good deal or just a return on their investment? Why X1 in particular over the many other credit card startups out there?
Let’s talk about that last point first.
When we talked to X1 in December at the time of its last fundraise, fo …
