French Neobank Qonto Accelerates European Growth With $550M Round

Qonto, the Paris-based neobank for small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and freelancers, has raised 486 million euros ($552 million) in Series D funding, the Paris-based company announced Tuesday (Jan. 11).

The fundraising, one of the largest ever in France, brings the company’s valuation to 4.4 billion euros ($5 billion).

Qonto’s funding represents the third French company to achieve unicorn status — firms with a valuation of more than $1 billion — less than two weeks into the new year.

Read more: Europe VC Ecosystem Smashes Records In Q3 2021, Setting The Stage For Promising 2022 Deals

On Monday, PYMNTS reported Paris-based marketplace Ankorstore raised 250 million euros ($284 million) in Series C funding round with a 1.75-billion-euro valuation. The deal came less than two weeks into the new year and on the heels of another major fundraising by French human resource (HR) technology firm, PayFit.

Read more: Ankorstore Unicorn Status Increases Buzz Around France and Europe VC Ecosystems

PayFit, a payroll and HR management solution for SMBs, started the year off raising 254 million euros ($276 million), a record-breaking amount for the Paris-based firm, PYMNTS reported last week.

Learn more: PayFit Raises $276M to Transform HR Technology

Qonto’s latest round of financing was led by new investors Tiger Global and TCV, and eight other new contributors including Alkeon, Eurazeo, KKR, Insight Partners, Exor Seeds, Guillaume Pousaz, Gaingels and Ashley Flucas.

They join existing investors Valar, Alven, DST Global and Tencent, who have renewed their support with participation in this new funding round.

The company said it plans to use the new revenue to become the finance choice for 1 million customers, expand products, launch in new European markets by next year and quadruple its staff to more than 2,000 by 2025, with half of new hires based outside of France.

Since its launch in France in 2017, Qonto said it has simplified everything from everyday banking and financing to bookkeeping and spending management. The company said it has more than 220,000 clients France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

“We count on policymakers to continue their efforts to ensure entrepreneurship can succeed, leading to European and global champions that deliver innovation,” said Alexandre Prot, co-founder and CEO of Qonto, in a statement.

“This is only the beginning of our journey to best serve SMEs and freelancers and we couldn’t be more excited about what the future holds for us and our ambitions,” Prot added.