The VC arm of insurance giant Allianz has led a $300 million Series E funding round for Ualá, valuing the Argentinian mobile banking provider at $2.75 billion.
Participating in the funding round were Stone Ridge Holdings Group, Tencent, Pershing Square Foundation, Ribbit Capital, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Soros Fund Management, Rodina, SoftBank Latin America Fund, Jefferies, D1 Capital Partners, Claure Group, AlleyCorp, and Monashees.
Founded in 2017, Ualá now boasts over eight million customers across Argentina, Mexico, and Colombia, and has issued more than seven million loans. Originally launched with a debit card, the company now holds banking licenses and offers a variety of services through its app, such as money transfers, bill payments, credit options, as well as savings and investment features.
Ualá has created a proprietary AI-driven credit scoring system that utilizes socio-demographic, transactional, and user data to provide personalized offers to its users.
CEO Pierpaolo Barbieri stated, "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."
Nazim Cetin, CEO of Allianz X, noted: "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."
For insights into the challenges and opportunities that artificial intelligence presents to the banking sector, consider attending Finextra’s first NextGenAI conference on November 26, 2024. Register your interest here.