Fintech Airwallex valued at over $6 billion in latest funding round

Payments firm Airwallex said on Wednesday it was valued at $6.2 billion in its latest fundraise of $300 million, marking a nearly 11% jump in valuation from its last financing in 2022.

Fintech startups, which saw an investor gold rush post-Covid, have struggled to raise capital thereafter as persistently high interest rates and fears of a spending slowdown pushed investors to the sidelines.

Companies offering payments processing solutions have increasingly entered the U.S. lending space, aiming to wrest market share from major players such as JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup.

Following the trend, Airwallex, which was launched in Melbourne in 2015, moved its permanent headquarters to San Francisco last year.

The latest round, which included investors like Square Peg, DST Global, Lone Pine Capital and Blackbird, brings Airwallex's total funding to over $1.2 billion.

Airwallex said that the added capital would be used to enter new markets and refine its technology.

"This investment marks a major milestone in our journey to redefine global banking, and to empower businesses everywhere to grow without limits," said Jack Zhang, co-founder and CEO of Airwallex.

The company, which allows customers to issue and pay international invoices and bills through its payments platform, said that it had grown gross profit in Americas and Europe at a 4-year compounded annual growth of over 250%.