Korea's Viva Republica raises $80m at $1.2b valuation
Kleiner Perkins and Ribbit Capital have led an $80 million funding round for Viva Republica that values the Korean financial technology start-up at about $1.2 billion.
Several existing investors also participated including Altos Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Goodwater Capital, KTB Network, PayPal and Qualcomm Ventures. The capital will be used for a technology build-out and global expansion.
It follows a $40 million bridge round provided by Singapore's GIC Private and Sequoia Capital China in June that was said to be both firms' first Korean investment. The company has raised almost $200 million to date, including a $48 million Series C round last year and a $24 million Series B in 2016.
Viva Republica was founded in 2015 as a peer-to-peer (P2P) money transfer service and has since evolved into a more comprehensive fintech platform. Its flagship product, an app known as Toss, has facilitated some $18 billion in transactions across 25 different services including financial dashboard, credit scoring management, customized loan and insurance plans, P2P investment, and services around mutual funds and foreign stocks.
"We're excited to be part of one of the fastest growing fintech company we have seen globally," Nikolay Kostov, a partner at Ribbit, said in a statement. "As an investor focused on fintech, we believe Toss has significant possibilities ahead for growth and profitability, particularly when comparing Toss to other global fintech players and seeing the size of Korea's financial market. We look forward to Toss' next phase with us."
Korea's fintech sector has experienced momentum based on a softening regulatory environment, increased interest from conglomerates, and an internet-savvy consumer market. The trend coincides with expectations among some investors that rising regional competition, especially from China, will result in domestic growth opportunity shifting from consumer-facing brands to B2B business models.
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