LendAPI Partners with Target Optical
In a significant step forward for pediatric eye care, Great North Ventures portfolio company LendAPI has partnered with Target Optical to launch a specialized financing program for myopia management. This initiative aims to tackle the growing global myopia epidemic by removing the financial barriers associated with high-end treatments like Essilor Stellest lenses. While these “gold […]
Toward BNPL 3.0: From Checkout Button to Financial Infrastructure
Lower funding costs, tighter distribution and regulatory fragmentation will define the next phase of buy now, pay later. PayPal and Affirm recently applied for industrial loan company charters, and Sezzle says it’s open to pursuing that path. These moves reveal something bigger: BNPL is no longer just about shopping. It’s becoming core financial infrastructure. These […]
Fintech 2026: 4 Signals We’re Watching
Fintech is no longer a category of its own. It’s the efficiency layer that that sits beneath how every industry moves money. We’re well into a new year, and industry truths we learned in 2025 are continuing to prove themselves. Increasingly, we think fintech success will be defined by the kind of “unsexy” technology that […]
How Operating Discipline Fueled Field Nation’s Rise
Why clarity on the customer, the market, and the product drove the company forward. Field Nation achieved remarkable scale before on-demand work went mainstream, a trajectory built on quiet execution and an early decision to bring in seasoned operators. What began as a small, scrappy team focused on solving real technician-sourcing problems has evolved into […]
Micruity Raises $20M Series A to Modernize Retirement Income Infrastructure
Micruity, a Great North Ventures portfolio company, has raised a $20 million Series A round led by Rebalance Capital and Nationwide Ventures, with participation from J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Reinsurance Group of America (RGA), The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian), Collab Capital, State Street Investment Management, TIAA Ventures, and continued support from several […]
Inside Field Nation, The Platform Powering America’s On-demand IT Workforce
During the height of the pandemic, national IT deployment firm Worldlink saw demand for retail tech upgrades spike while it worked through labor shortages and supply-chain challenges. Like many service providers facing similar pressures, the company turned to outside support to close the gaps. One key partner was Field Nation, a software platform that connects […]
How OCN (OneCarNow.com) Turned a Ride-Hailing Problem into a Fintech Revolution
For Mexico’s thousands of ride-hail drivers, the roadblock isn’t demand. It’s access. Drivers are under-served in a ride-hailing industry already worth more than $3.5 billion and projected to grow steadily in the years ahead. The original concept for OneCarNow (OCN) was a peer-to-peer rental marketplace connecting car owners and short-term renters. Within a few months, […]
Our Strategy: Vertical AI + Embedded Finance
At Great North Ventures, we back founders who can turn new technology into measurable business results. As former operators ourselves, we’ve built and scaled companies through multiple technology cycles — and we know the difference between hype and execution. With this in mind, we’ve sharpened our focus around two themes: Vertical AI and Embedded Finance. […]
Branch: A fintech growth story powered by instant payments
Branch has made instant payments a core workforce benefit, pairing capital-efficient growth with a mission to give working Americans quicker, easier access to earnings. Transformative workforce payment solutions don’t happen overnight. They’re built through a relentless focus on solving real problems for working Americans. Branch, a fintech led by founder and CEO Atif Siddiqi helps […]
‘Embedded Everywhere’: Tim Li on the future of lending, AI, and VC scrutiny
Tim Li is a fintech veteran with two decades of experience working at the intersection of banking and technology. After earning a master’s in engineering and building microprocessors at Intel, he pivoted to financial services in the early 2000s, joining JPMorgan Chase to help launch its first digital banking platforms. As the financial crisis hit […]