Ualá, the Latin American neobank founded in Argentina, has raised a $300 million Series E investment round, valuing the company at $2.75 billion on a post-money basis.
The round is led by Allianz X, the growth investments arm of Allianz Group, one of the world’s leading insurers and asset managers. New and existing investors also participated, including Stone Ridge Holdings Group, Tencent, Pershing Square Foundation, Ribbit Capital, Alan Howard, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Soros Fund Management LLC, Rodina, SoftBank Latin America Fund, Jefferies, D1 Capital Partners, Claure Group, AlleyCorp and Monashees.
The investment marks the largest growth equity fundraising round in Latin America in the past three years as well as Allianz X’s first investment in the region. The round also stands as the largest equity capital raise for an Argentina-based company since Ualá’s Series D in 2021. This highlights Ualá’s remarkable growth and leadership in the fintech sector.
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Ualá will use the proceeds to broaden its financial ecosystem and fuel faster growth in its markets. In only seven years, the neobank has built a comprehensive suite of financial services for over eight million users, with full banking licenses operating across the region. Ualá offers debit and credit cards, payment services, loans, investment products, and acquiring solutions for merchants.
The rapid growth of Ualá’s business in Argentina, underscores the potential of its business model across Latin America. In Mexico, Ualá has consistently grown its active user base by 14% per month since obtaining its full bank license. In addition, Ualá developed its proprietary credit scoring tool, UaláScore, leveraging AI and over 300 data points—including transactional data—to deliver personalized financial solutions and expand access to credit throughout the region.
“As a digital financial platform with its own banking licenses, a broad product range, and strong customer growth since 2017, Ualá is uniquely positioned to participate in the upcoming growth of the Latin American financial markets,” said Dr. Nazim Cetin, CEO of Allianz X. “As a proven growth investor with the backing of a leading global insurer and asset manager, Allianz X is the perfect partner to support Ualá’s next bold steps.”
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“The future inspires us. This Series E funding will further our financial ecosystem now with fully integrated and operational banks in our markets. The trust and confidence from our investors reaffirms our vision: we will soon be the largest bank in Argentina. Mexico and Colombia are next. Our single focus is the finest product: we will keep delivering the best value proposition for our users in Mexico, Argentina and Colombia – and grow beyond,” said Pierpaolo Barbieri, founder and CEO of Ualá.
Alongside the investment from Allianz X, Ualá is set to unlock compelling opportunities in the insurtech space, leveraging shared expertise, resources, and cutting-edge technology in cooperation with Allianz. This strategic partnership will drive mutual growth and accelerate market expansion across the promising Latin American region, further enhancing Ualá’s commitment to providing innovative financial solutions.
Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP acted as legal advisors and Ardea Partners LP acted as financial advisors to Ualá. Milbank LLP acted as legal advisors to Allianz X.
Ualá’s growth in numbers:
- More than 8 million users in less than 7 years.
- More than 7 million loans granted.
- More than 17% of the adult population in Argentina have a Ualá account.
- More than 2.7 million users have invested via Ualá.
- Total Payment Volume (TPV) for our merchant acquiring vertical grew by 55% in the last 12 months.
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