Brazilian fintech company Nubank has raised $180 million in funding from Chinese Internet company Tencent at a $4 billion valuation, according to The Information.
Of the $180 million investment, $90 million was in direct investment and the other $90 million was in the secondary market. With a $4 billion valuation, Nubank is now one of the biggest startups in Latin America and is one of the largest digital banking companies in the world.
Founded by David Velez and Cristina Junqueira, Nubank also raised $150 million in a round of funding led by DST in February. So the company did not need additional capital. But Velez told TechCrunch that the company found a lot of value partnering with Tencent. “Particularly everything there is to learn about the Chinese financial market,” said Velez via TechCrunch.
By learning more about the financial markets in China, Velez is looking to apply similar strategies in Brazil. And Tencent is going to gain a better understanding of how Nubank manages to service 5 million credit card holders. And about 2.5 million signed up for Nubank’s digital bank account since it launched a year ago. Nubank also has plans to develop its own banking services and offer savings accounts.
Nubank is expected to be able to serve tens of millions of customers in Brazil soon with either a checking account, a savings account, or a credit account. “Over 20 million people have applied for the card,” added Velez via TechCrunch. “There are active, engaged, customers that want to get everything from us.”
Since launching in 2013, Nubank has raised a total of $420 million in funding over seven rounds.
