Australian startup Airwallex raised US$200 million for global expansion

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In September 2021, Australia-based FinTech platform, Airwallex, raised US$200 million in its Series E funding round at a valuation of US$4 billion. The company, primarily involved in business banking services, raised the fund from Lone Pine Capital, G Squared, Vetamer Capital Management, 1835i Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, DST Global, and Sequoia Capital. According to the company, the fund will be used for global expansion, product development, and strengthening its team in the sales and commercial divisions.

The funding round brings the total capital raised by the firm to US$700 million, which also includes a US$100 million Series D funding raised in March 2021.

The firm attributes the quick succession of funding and rising valuation to the vertically integrated strategy followed by Airwallex. Notably, the vertically integrated strategy as described by the company consists of two parts. First, the firm has built all the infrastructure needed for the business banking services, which it provides directly to the SME businesses. Second, the firm has packaged up the infrastructure into a set of APIs used by different companies to offer financial services to their customers without actually having to build those services themselves.

So far, the strategy seems to be working for the firm. For the first half of 2021, Airwallex recorded 150% year-over-year growth while processing US$20 billion for its global client base. Apart from tens of thousands of SMEs, the firm is also powering financial services for other companies such as Papaya Global, GOAT, and Stake through its APIs. Since its inception, the firm has built more than 50 bank integrations and offered payments services across 95 countries in the last six years. Notably, in 43 out of these 95 countries, the firm provides real-time payment solutions.  

In September 2021, the firm also secured a money services business (MSB) license from Bank Negara Malaysia. The license will allow the firm to offer integrated international payment solutions for businesses in Malaysia. The businesses operating in the country will now be able to send and receive cross-border payments in multiple currencies starting 2022. PayNXT360 expects the MSB license to help Airwallex to continue on its growth journey even in the Southeast Asia region. Notably, the firm also has its presence in the Singapore market.