Wayflyer, a financing and growth platform announced its Series B funding round of $150m, bringing Wayflyer’s post-money valuation to $1.6bn, thus, making it Ireland’s 6th unicorn.
The all-equity round was co-led by DST Global and QED Investors.
3 new investors; Prosus, Madrone Capital Partners and J.P. Morgan plus existing investors Left Lane Capital and Guillaume Pousaz (Checkout.com founder) participated in the round.
Wayflyer helping businesses unlock potential
Wayflyer is uniquely positioned to help ambitious eCommerce businesses unlock their true potential, solving some of the critical challenges that have long stifled growth.
Combining access to capital and insights that help eCommerce businesses deploy that capital effectively, Wayflyer acts as a trusted growth partner to thousands of merchants worldwide.
To further its impact on the global eCommerce sector, Wayflyer will utilise this funding round to provide billions of dollars to ambitious eCommerce merchants in the coming years.
This round comes after a significant period of growth for the Dublin based business.
In 2021 Wayflyer raised a Series A round of $76m, expanded into new markets, opened a dedicated office in Atlanta and formed partnerships with Adobe, Sezzle and eBay UK.
Wayflyer’s employee headcount experienced an increase of 525% in 2021, from 40 employees up to 250, and its annual capital deployments grew over 900% year-on-year.
eCommerce shows no sign of slowing in 2022, with sales predicted to reach $5.4tn.
Wayflyer aims to strengthen position in markets
Against this backdrop, funds from Wayflyer’s Series B round will be used to continue building its presence in current territories, expand into new territories across Europe and into Asia, further expand its product range, and hire the best talent world wide.
Aidan Corbett, the Chief Executive Officer of Wayflyer expressed enthusiastic optimism.
“Since launching Wayflyer in April of 2020, the company has been relentlessly focused on helping our customers drive growth and removing the barriers that limit their potential.”
“The founders we work with have incredible ideas and passion for making things happen.”
“They are constantly striving to break new ground and go further with the business in a challenging environment and we’re proud to support them and help them reach new heights.”
“Our Series B funding round will facilitate and further help us to build our offering to customers, expand into exciting new territories and also hire more world-class talent.”
“We’ve just scratched the surface of possibility and with an incredible team working to solve the biggest challenges in eCommerce, I couldn’t be more excited for what’s ahead.”
Tom Stafford, Co-founder and Managing Partner at DST Global said, “The Wayflyer team remain focused on helping eCommerce companies grow and maximise their potential.”
“We are impressed by their commitment to build the best products for their clients and proactively help them grow via analytics, practical insights and attractively priced funding.”
“We are pleased to continue supporting the team, as Wayflyer expands globally to provide innovative financing and growth solutions for eCommerce businesses around the world.”
Sandeep Bakshi, the Head of Investments for Europe at Prosus Ventures is buoyant.
“The global COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated eCommerce adoption globally and Wayflyer is transforming financial services for eCommerce businesses wanting to scale quickly, helping them to gain access to capital, inventory and insights at attractive terms.”
“They have a deep understanding of value drivers for their clients. The financial and business innovation that Wayflyer provides will fuel eCommerce ecosystems globally.”