Australian fintech unicorn Airwallex retains $8.8 billion valuation after new $159 million funding round

Australian fintech Airwallex has secured a new US$100 million ($159.6 million) funding round to power its international growth, but trying market conditions have kept the company from advancing on its US$5.5 billion ($8.8 billion) valuation.

Melbourne-based Airwallex, which uses machine learning to find efficient cross-border payment options for businesses, revealed the extension to its Series E funding round on Tuesday.

The top-up was led by existing investors including Square Peg, Salesforce Ventures, Sequoia Capital China, Lone Pine Capital, Tencent, Hermitage Capital and 1835i Ventures.

Superannuation fund Hostplus also contributed to the new round.

All told, the company’s Series E funding efforts have now tipped US$400 million ($639.7 million) into the venture, bringing total external investment to US$902 million ($1.44 billion).

In a statement, CEO and co-founder Jack Zhang said the funding will help Airwallex advance its goal of becoming an indispensable component in the global payments landscape.

However, the founder acknowledged the raise was backdropped by broader economic uncertainty and dimming investor sentiment.

“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,” he said.

Underscoring the tough conditions: the fact Airwallex’s latest valuation is level with its November 2021 reading, despite the company reporting a year-on-year revenue spike of 184%.

While a significant uptick in revenue was seemingly enough for Airwallex to retain its valuation, its competitors have slashed their valuations in the market correction.

In July, Stripe, the US-based payments service frequently billed as an Airwallex competitor, downgraded its internal valuation by 28% to US$74 billion ($118.3 billion).

With constrained consumer spending a looming possibility, Zhang maintained new customers will continue to adopt Airwallex for its cost-shaving abilities.

“By strengthening the breadth of our global reach and product offering, we can better empower our customers to unlock new market opportunities,” he said.