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As a further sign that private equity valuations have come off the boil, Melbourne-founded fintech platform Airwallex is now worth the same as in November 2021 despite a US$100 million extension to its Series E round.
This takes the total raised in the round to US$400 million, giving the Hong Kong-headquartered group a valuation of US$5.5 billion.
In AUD terms the company is now worth almost $1 billion more than in November, but that is almost entirely attributable to a depreciation in the currency against the US dollar.
The latest funds came from existing investors Square Peg, Salesforce Ventures, Sequoia Capital China, Lone Pine Capital, Hermitage Capital, 1835i Ventures and Tencent, as well as industry superannuation fund HostPlus and a leading North American pension fund.
Since its beginnings when Airwallex was founded by Xijing Dai, Jack Zhang, Lucy Liu and Max Li, Airwallex has raised a total of US$900 million, while its revenue has recently increased 184 per cent year-on-year and customer numbers have doubled.
"The valuation underscores investors’ confidence in Airwallex’s core business value and fundamentals, and we are fortunate to have the continued support of our existing investors, and the confidence of new investors, as we pursue our vision to become the global economic infrastructure for modern businesses,” said Airwallex co-founder and CEO Jack Zhang.
"The market environment remains challenging in the foreseeable future, and while we remain well capitalised, this additional runway allows us to continue our growth plans, product expansion, and hire some of the best talents in the world.
"By strengthening the breadth of our global reach and product offering, we can better empower our customers to unlock new market opportunities."
The company accelerated its international expansion in 2021, successfully extending its reach across Europe, North America and Asia Pacific, serving three of the largest e-commerce markets in the world: China, the United States and the United Kingdom.
Today, tens of thousands of businesses use Airwallex’s global payments and banking platform to process payments and move money efficiently anywhere around the world.
"We are building one of the world’s most powerful global payment and banking infrastructure," Zhang said.
"By providing a faster, safe, transparent and more efficient way to operate globally, we are enabling businesses to maximise revenues and accelerate growth."
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