Airwallex Valued at $8B After $330M Funding Round as ARR Tops $1B; Founder Recounts Rejected $1.2B Stripe Buyout Offer

Airwallex has moved from a historic Stripe acquisition discussion to a high-growth fintech milestone. In 2018, Stripe approached Airwallex with a proposed sale at $1.2 billion when annual revenue was about $2 million, implying a 600x revenue multiple. Founder and CEO Jack Zhang indicated that, using the current stock price, the founder could have earned north of $2 billion, yet the team declined. Today, the firm has closed a $330 million round, reflecting a stated $8 billion valuation and an ARR near $1 billion, underscoring its scale in the enterprise payments segment.

The latest round was led by Addition, with participation from Activant, Lingotto, and TIAA Ventures, among others, signaling roughly a 30% uplift from the prior six months. The funding highlights strong capital appetite for fintech platforms expanding cross-border payments capabilities and diversified revenue streams within the evolving payments ecosystem.