PayPal Ventures Joins VNLIFE’s $250M Funding Round

PayPal Ventures was among investors taking part in VNLIFE’s Series B funding round of more than $250 million, which secured the digital banking and payments company’s standing as Vietnam’s second tech unicorn, according to a Tech in Asia report.

The funding round, announced Friday (July 30), was led by Dragoneer Investment Group and General Atlantic, with PayPal Ventures and EDBI participating.

“The investment is expected to accelerate the growth of VNLIFE’s existing businesses and support its development of new platforms and technologies to better serve its merchant partners and Vietnamese consumers,” VNLIFE said in a news release. “The company intends to use the funding to further capitalize on the vast market opportunities in an increasingly digital Vietnam by continuing to expand its sustainable, diversified and multi-disciplinary digital ecosystem.”

According to Tech in Asia, the funding round was one of the largest ever seen in Vietnam, and makes VNLIFE the nation’s second tech company to hit a $1 billion valuation.

VNLIFE’s technology solutions are provided to dozens of banks across Vietnam via its Vietnam Payment Solution JSC (“VNPAY”)  subsidiary. VNLIFE also operates VNPAY-QR, the country’s largest interoperable cashless payment network, which has 22 million users and more than 150,000 merchants.

In addition, the company’s VNTRAVEL tool operates a domestic online travel agency across several brands, while its retail division, TEKO, has developed “a portfolio of complementary software solutions that enable large and small enterprises throughout the country to digitize their analogue businesses.”

This is happening at a time when big names such as Amazon and Goldman Sachs are looking to Vietnam as the next frontier in the world of eCommerce, as the country’s digital economy is expected to grow to $52 billion by 2025.

Online sales are projected to account for 10 percent of all retail sales in Vietnam by 2025. In urban areas like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, that number could be as high as 50 percent.