Australian-based Airwallex, which facilitates cross-border payments, has raised USD 200 million in a Series E financing round. The fundraising was led by Lone Pine Capital, with new participants G Squared and Vetamer Capital Management, and returning investors 1835i Ventures (formerly ANZi), DST Global, Salesforce Ventures, and Sequoia Capital China participating in the investment.
The funding brings the total raised by Airwallex to USD 700 million, and bumps its valuation up to USD 4 billion, rising by 54% in six months after the startup closed its Series D in March.
The new funds will be used to support Airwallex’s global expansion, accelerate product development, grow its sales and commercial teams, and increase its product offerings to SMEs and major enterprises, the company said.
Founded in Melbourne in 2015, the startup initially focused on helping small businesses make purchases overseas without incurring currency exchange fees. Airwallex then expanded to offer other financial products, including multi-currency debit cards, international transactions, and currency exchange services. Airwallex’s global payments network now covers more than 50 currencies in more than 130 countries and regions.
The company is in the process of establishing an even stronger global presence. It announced plans to open an office in North America last month, and secured a money services business (MSB) license in Malaysia and an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license in the Netherlands this year.
Airwallex has seen significant growth in the past 12 months, recording year-over-year revenue growth of nearly 150% in the first half of 2021. The company’s global client portfolio has quadrupled in size. It serves innovative businesses such as GOAT, Papaya Global, and Stake.
“From the start, our vision has been to build a global financial operating system that will allow modern businesses to operate without borders,” said Jack Zhang, co-founder and CEO of Airwallex. “This additional capital enables us to scale our presence in North America, the UK, Europe, and other new markets, including the Middle East, South America, and Southeast Asia, and become a dominant leader in global payments.”
Read this: Indonesia and Thailand launch cross-border QR payment link
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content published by 36Kr. This article was originally written by Yong Yi for 36Kr. It was translated and adapted by Mengyuan Ge.