Airwallex raises $330 million to expand into US, Europe

• Key insight: Airwallex's new San Francisco HQ signals a strategic U.S. pivot.
• What's at stake: U.S. and European market share could shift among global fintechs.
• Supporting data: Airwallex valuation rose to $8 billion after a $330 million fundraise.
  Source: Bullet points generated by AI with editorial review

Global payments platform Airwallex closed a $330 million Series G funding round this week as the fintech is expanding its presence in the U.S. and European markets.

The company, which provides businesses with digital infrastructure for international payments, is now valued at $8 billion, a 30% increase since the closing of its prior Series F funding round in May of this year.

Airwallex announced this week that it is establishing its San Francisco office as a second global headquarters. It will be investing around $1 billion into its U.S. operations between 2026 and 2029, according to a statement released on Monday.

The company plans to double its U.S. headcount from around 200 employees to more than 400 employees over the next 12 months. Airwallex will also be doubling its San Francisco office space and establishing it as a second global headquarters.

Additionally, the company announced on Thursday that it is committing $590 million toward expanding its U.K. business over the next five years. Airwallex will also invest additional multimillion dollar amounts in other key geographies, including the Netherlands, France and Germany, in early 2026, according to a statement.

Founded in Australia in 2015, Airwallex is currently headquartered in Singapore but considers itself to be a global company, according to Airwallex Vice President of Financial and Strategic Partnerships Jason Gottlieb.

"We solve problems for companies that are global or are going global, so we're an extremely distributed company," he told American Banker.

The funding round was led by U.S. venture capital firm Addition with participation from investors such as T. Rowe Price, Robinhood Ventures and TIAA Ventures.

"Airwallex is reshaping the global business banking landscape," said Addition founder Lee Fixel. "With its global financial infrastructure, software and AI capabilities, the company is exceptionally well positioned to lead the future of global business banking."

Gottlieb said that the company is "not sprinting toward an IPO," but that expanding in San Francisco brings Airwallex closer to its U.S. partners and "paves the way for a potential IPO over whatever sort of timeframe makes sense."

Experts say that venture capital fundraising is viable for strong private fintechs like Airwallex and buys time for a potentially stronger exit in the future.

"For a company like Airwallex with strong double-digit growth, staying private makes strategic sense," CB Insights analyst Jason Saltzman told American Banker. "Late-stage capital concentration for fintech funding, especially in the U.S., gives companies like Airwallex global expansion options without requiring exposure to volatile public markets."

Ben Boissevain, founder of Ascento Capital Invest, told American Banker that the $330 million raised by Airwallex "provides a long runway so they have no pressure to sell or IPO, which is the best position to be in for valuation negotiations."

"A well-established international company like Airwallex would choose to go the VC funding route to set a fresh reference price in anticipation of an IPO or a sale to a strategic acquirer," he said. "An increase in valuation also helps attract talent in a competitive market with Stripe, Rapyd and Revolut."

The company attributed interest in its most recent funding round to its 2025 operating performance. Airwallex reported $1 billion in annualized run rate revenue in November of this year, an increase of 90% from the previous year.

Airwallex also holds 80 licenses and permits worldwide, including money transmitter licenses for 48 U.S. states, according to Gottlieb.

"We are already well-regulated in the U.S. market and are always pursuing additional licenses and registrations," he said. "Our push is to get as close to that core infrastructure as we possibly can. It gives us more control, and we have less dependency on third parties so we're more efficient and can drive better outcomes for customers."

Airwallex acquired the San Francisco-based billing fintech OpenPay in September of this year. The acquisition furthered the company's competition with other international payments fintechs such as Stripe.