The Estonian-founded, London-based money transfer startup, TransferWise, has secured USD280 million in a new investment round, led by Old Mutual Global Investors, an asset management company, and IVP, a venture capital firm.
According to TransferWise, the deal is Old Mutual Global Investors’ second-even equity investment in a private company. IVP, on the other hand, has SNAP, Dropbox and Twitter among its portfolio.
Silicon Valley’s Sapphire Ventures, Japanese Mitsui & Co, Ltd and the US-Japan venture firm, World Innovation Lab, also joined TransferWise as new investors. The round was supported by existing investors Richard Branson, Andreessen Horowitz and Baillie Gifford who all reinvested. To date the company has raised USD397 million.
TransferWise now serves over two million customers and offers 750 currency routes, and moves €1 billion for its customers every month. In October, the company launched its Borderless account – that allows small and medium businesses to hold money in up to 28 currencies with access to local bank account details – in Australia, with further expansion across APAC planned. The company already has hundreds of thousands of customers in the region, having announced a hub office in Singapore this year, with satellite offices in Tokyo and Sydney.
TransferWise was founded by Estonians Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Käärmann in 2011, and it’s based in London, the UK.
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Cover: Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Käärmann in TransferWise’s London office.
