Singapore's Aspire closes Series C on $100m
Singapore-based B2B banking platform Aspire has closed an oversubscribed Series C round with USD 100m in commitments. Lightspeed Venture Partners and Sequoia Capital Southeast Asia took the lead.
Both VC firms are ramping up their exposure to the region. Lightspeed closed its fourth early-stage fund focused on India and Southeast Asia mid-last year on USD 500m.
Sequoia closed its first fund dedicated to Southeast Asia last year on USD 850, in tandem with a USD 2bn India fund. It was active in Singaporean financial technology earlier this week, leading a USD 16.9m Series A for cross-border payments start-up Tazapay.
Paypal Ventures, LGT Capital Partners, and existing bakers Picus Capital of Germany and Mass Mutual Ventures also participated in Aspire’s Series C. Paypal likewise joined the Tazapay round.
It brings total funding since Aspire’s inception to about USD 300m, including a USD 158m Series B in 2021 that featured Picus and Mass Mutual among others.
The company offers businesses a unified suite of financial services including international payments, corporate cards, and payables and receivables management, accessible via a single account described as user-friendly. It claims to have recently tripled its annualised total payment volumes to USD 12bn from over 15,000 businesses across the region.
This year the company hopes to grow its 400-strong team region-wide and build out its technology ecosystem while maintaining unit economics it touts as “best-in-class.” There are also plans to enhance the product offering.
“Aspire has emerged as a leader in the B2B fintech space in Southeast Asia, with a complete end-to-end product for managing business finance, a strong track record of growth, and solid fundamentals,” Bejul Somaia, a partner at Lightspeed, said in a statement.
Earlier investors in the company include Arc Labs, Beacon Venture Capital, Insignia Ventures, Mark 2 Capital, and Y Combinator, according to AVCJ Research.
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