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Airwallex Confirmed as Latest Fintech Unicorn Following Series C Fundraising
[March 25, 2019]

Airwallex Confirmed as Latest Fintech Unicorn Following Series C Fundraising


Airwallex confirms unicorn status following a successful Series C fundraising round of $100m USD, valuing the company at over $1bn USD.

  • Airwallex's Series C fundraising was led by DST Global, which has previously backed internet giants Facebook, Airbnb and Spotify (News - Alert) and fintech leaders Nubank and Robinhood.
  • The new capital will be used to expand Airwallex's suite of international collection and payment products and to support global expansion into the US, UK / Europe and Southeast Asia.
  • Airwallex is committed to empowering marketplaces, online sellers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to grow their businesses.

Founded in Melbourne (Australia) in 2015, Airwallex has grown from an emerging start-up to a global challenger in the cross-border payment space. Airwallex offers an end-to-end solution for businesses to make payments and move money programmatically on a global scale, supporting a client base of internet titans including JD.com, Tencent and Ctrip, and large financial service companies including MasterCard (News - Alert).

With Airwallex, customers can instantly create Global Accounts with local bank details, access interbank exchange rates and send money through local and international clearing networks to more than 130 countries.

Top-tier investor DST Global led the Series C fundraising round, which closed at $100m USD. DST Global has been a primary investor across a number of global technology success stories, including Facebook (News - Alert), Airbnb and Spotify, and other fintech leaders, such as Nubank and Robinhood.

Alongside new investor DST Global, existing participants from Airwallex's previous rounds returned for the Series C fundraising, including Sequoia Capital (News - Alert) China, Tencent, Hillhouse Capital, Gobi Partners, Horizons Ventures and Square Peg Capital.

The round brings Airwallex's total capital raised to over $200m USD. Just three years after it was founded, Airwallex is now valued at over $1bn USD, confirming its position as a newly minted fintech unicorn.

Accelerating product development and global reach to help marketplaces, online sellers and SMEs

"We started Airwallex because we knew there was a better way to make global payments," said Airwallex CEO and Co-founder Jack Zhang. "Airwallex is proud to free businesses from many of the traditional barriers that have made international transactions so difficult. Our mission is to build a worldwide, technology-driven financial infrastructure that will help our customers - including marketplaces, online sellers and SMEs -grow their businesses globally."



Alongside global expansion, the funds will also be used to continue product development, with an emphasis on delivering further value to marketplaces, online sellers and SMEs. Airwallex aspires to become the operating system of global banking, offering customers a truly global financial platform that serves their growing business needs.

Tom Stafford, Managing Partner of DST Global, said, "The growing eCommerce industry needs a technology-focused payments network that is reliable, cost-effective and provides data transparency. Airwallex has built such a network and we are excited to partner with Jack and the team as they continue to grow their business."


NOTES TO MEDIA

Interview opportunities

Jack Zhang (CEO and Co-Founder) and Lucy Liu (President and Co-Founder) are available for telephone interviews.

Please contact [email protected] to arrange.

About Airwallex

Airwallex is a fintech redefining payments globally. Since 2015, Airwallex has secured over $200 million USD in external funding, supported by top-tier investors including DST Global, Sequoia Capital China, Tencent, Hillhouse Capital, Gobi Partners, Horizons Ventures, Square Peg Capital, and MasterCard. The company uses advanced technology to enable low-cost, high-speed and transparent international payments encompassing the entire cross-border payment value chain, from global collection to foreign exchange and international payments. Led by a highly capable, experienced, and driven executive team, we have established international offices across Hong Kong, Melbourne, Shanghai, Singapore, London and San Francisco.

www.airwallex.com

For further information

If you have any questions or would like to request further information, please contact [email protected].

GLOBAL MEDIA FAQ

Airwallex Overview

Who / what is Airwallex?

Founded in 2015 in Melbourne, Airwallex is one of the world's leading fintechs.

Airwallex has recently been recognised as a unicorn, a VC-backed privately-owned company valued at over $1bn USD, just three years after it was founded.

Following its recent Series C fundraising round, Airwallex has now raised over $200m USD in capital from top-tier investors including DST Global, Sequoia Capital China, Tencent, Hillhouse Capital, Gobi Partners, Horizons Ventures, SquarePeg Capital, and MasterCard.

Airwallex is able to offer an end-to-end solution for businesses to move money programmatically on a global scale. With Airwallex, customers can instantly create Global Accounts with local bank details, access interbank exchange rates and send money through local and international clearing networks to more than 130 countries.

Airwallex aspires to become the operating system of global banking, offering customers a truly global financial platform that serves their growing business needs.

What is unique about Airwallex's technology / product?

End-to-end solution:

The Airwallex platform is powered by sophisticated foreign exchange (FX) and payment engines which connect existing financial infrastructure and local clearing networks to provide an easy to integrate, end-to-end solution for our clients.

Easy API integration:

In addition to this, Airwallex offers its customers a platform-independent, easy-to-use suite of application programming interfaces (APIs) which can easily integrate into customer's existing finance or enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, enabling streamlined international transactions.

Series C Announcement

How much did Airwallex raise in its Series C fundraising?

Airwallex raised $100m USD in its Series C fundraising.

What is Airwallex's valuation as of March 2019?

Following the Series C fundraising, Airwallex is confirmed as a fintech unicorn with a valuation of over $1bn USD.

How much has Airwallex raised in total?

  • Seed: $3m USD
  • Series A: $13m USD
  • Series A+: $6m USD
  • Series B: $80m USD
  • Series C: $100m USD.


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