March 28, 2024

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Airwallex eyes further expansion as latest funding round lifts valuation to $4b

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Airwallex has raised another $200 million in a series E round, with the Australian fintech startup now reaching a fund total of over $700 million and a valuation of $4 billion.

The majority of the funding came from new investors, including private US-based investment firm Lone Pine Capital, which led the funding round and is the backer of other fintech giants such as PayPal and Square, as well Amazon, Netflix, and Twitter.

G square and Vetamer Capital Management also joined the round, alongside existing investors 1835i Ventures (formerly ANZi), DST Global, Salesforce Ventures, and Sequoia Capital China.

In a statement, Airwallex said it plans to use the additional funds to further its global expansion plans, which entail scaling up its presence globally and growing its sales and commercial teams, and developing new products and services.

“From the start, our vision has been to build a global financial operating system that will allow modern businesses to operate without borders,” co-founder and CEO Jack Zhang said.

“This additional capital enables us to scale our presence in North America, UK, Europe and other new markets including the Middle East, South America and Southeast Asia, and become a dominant leader in global payments.”

The latest investment follows the $100 million it raised in an extended Series D funding round in March this year. At the time, the company’s valuation sat at $2.6 billion.

Last month, the company announced its launch in the United States, noting that its San Francisco base would serve as one of the company’s engineering hubs alongside its offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Shanghai, and Amsterdam.

This news follows Canva announcing last week it achieved a total valuation of $40 billion, after its latest funding round raised $200 million.

Led by T. Rowe Price, the round was joined by new and existing investors including Franklin Templeton, Sequoia Capital Global Equities, Bessemer Venture Partners, Greenoaks Capital, Dragoneer Investments, Blackbird, Felicis, and AirTree Ventures.

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