Lydia intends to use this new funds to expand its operations beyond France’s borders into other nations in Europe.
The French fintech super-app Lydia has raised $100 million in its most recent fundraising round (Series C), according to a report by TechCrunch, bringing the company’s valuation to more than $1 billion.
Tencent and Accel, as well as Founders Futures, who were already investors, participated in the round, as well as first-time investors Dragoneer and Echo Street, who each made significant contributions to the overall amount raised.
Cyril Chiche, co-founder and CEO of Lydia, commented on the round, stating that the Series C round was particularly outstanding given the majority of the participants were long-time and current investors. It is particularly noteworthy that this round was primarily backed by current investors, as stated by the lead investor.
This demonstrated that things are indeed moving more quickly and for the better. Previously, when a funding round concentrated mostly on current investors, it simply meant that the companies or entities seeking investment were unable to convince new investors to place their trust in their operations. In that circumstance, the existing and previous investors would provide additional capital.
Different venture capital firms are now investing in and re-investing in each startup that is successful in business, allowing them to raise their overall investment into such a startup.
Lydia began as a peer-to-peer payment software in 2011, allowing users to attach their debit card and bank account information, which instantly grants them the ability to send and receive mobile payments among other Lydia users. Surprisingly, it rose to become the most successful company in its class in France.
Lydia’s development continued unabated, and it eventually evolved into a financial super app, complete with exciting features and financial goods. Lydia provides consumers with the option of obtaining a virtual or physical debit card that may be used on the Visa network. Users can also manage their cash more easily with the usage of sub-accounts that they can share with other Lydia users, according to the company’s website.
Lydia intends to use this funding to expand its operations outside France’s borders into other European countries. The company also has a hiring goal that includes not less than 800 people over the next few years. Currently, the company has 5.5 million members, but it intends to double that number by 2025 by attracting more consumers from the European Union.
The co-founder of the Startup, Cyril Chiche, believes that consumers will change their financial management habits in the next few years and that what the company is doing is merely a reinvention of the banking industry.
Recently, the business formed a partnership with Bitpanda to assist in the expansion of its products to include cryptocurrency and stock trading, giving customers the ability to diversify their funds into the most popular cryptocurrencies. This new feature has the potential to be a significant advantage for the future growth of the French startup.
