Chinese technology giant Tencent has now taken a significant stake in Monzo as part of its $100 million top-ups to the UK challenger’s recently confirmed $500 million funding round.
Monzo surprised market watchers in December 2021 by raising over $500 million at a $4.5 billion valuation, which is three times the £1.1 billion price tag it had managed to attract in its last discounted capital raise earlier last year.
This funding comes as Monzo seems to be on the verge of going on a new growth curve, doubling revenue last year and also signing up nearly 100,000 new clients per month. The bank currently has more than five million customers, including 300,000 who use paid accounts, with business accounts recently surpassing 100,000.
The initial funding round was led by Abu Dhabi Growth Fund, and there was participation from Accel, Goodwater, Coatue, and Alpha Wave Ventures. Tencent’s entry was broadcasted by Sky News, which reported from sources close to the process that the Chinese giant firm is investing a minority of the $100 million capital injection.
Today, it is evident that Tencent has a growing fintech portfolio. It has investments in Digital wealth manager Scalable Capital, Argentine personal finance app Ualá, and French startups Qonto and Lydia. It also has investments in challenger banks, including Brazil’s Nubank, Germany’s N26, and Tyme of South Africa.
