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Airwallex Pty Ltd: ownership, licences and regulatory scrutiny

Airwallex funding rounds and investors

After seed money from co-founder Lucy Liu in 2015, Airwallex has announced or been reported to raise rounds ranging from a US$3 million pre-Series A in 2016 to US$320 million of Series H funding at an US$11 billion valuation in June 2026. Tencent led the 2017 Series A and, with Sequoia China (now HongShan), the 2018 Series B; DST Global, Lone Pine Capital and Addition led later rounds. Holdings are not public: a Robinhood fund's report filed with the SEC records Series G preferred shares in Airwallex (Cayman) Limited, while the stakes of Jack Zhang, Square Peg and the Chinese investors rest on reported figures.

published
25 oct 2026
records as of
17 oct 2026
entities
111
sources
108
cite entities.csv

the questionWho has invested in Airwallex, in which rounds, and what is known about the size of their stakes?

1Seed to Series D, 2015–2020

analysisAccording to a US business magazine, co-founder Lucy Liu provided Airwallex's initial US$1 million of seed funding in 2015, after which the start-up raised a further US$3 million from small venture firms; another business magazine, in a corrected account of 2026, reports that Liu offered US$2 million and that Jack Zhang accepted US$1 million. Both accounts come from interviews, and no filing records the seed investment or the shares it bought. On 5 July 2016 Airwallex announced a US$3 million pre-Series A round led by the Shanghai-based Gobi Partners, with Gravity VC and the angel investors Huashan Capital One. A technology news site reported on 1 May 2017 that the Melbourne start-up had closed a US$13 million Series A round led by Tencent, its first investment in an Australian start-up, with Sequoia China, MasterCard and Gobi taking part; the start-up's own announcement is not among the retained records and the issuing company is not named. 1 2 3 4

analysisA Singapore business newspaper reported in July 2018 that Tencent and Sequoia China led an US$80 million Series B round, joined by Hillhouse, Horizons Ventures, Central Capital Ventura and Square Peg, which had also taken part in a US$6 million Series A+ round in December 2017; total funding reached US$102 million, according to the company's statement as the newspaper reported it, which names neither the issuing company nor the investors' stakes. In March 2019 a technology news site reported, from the company's announcement, a US$100 million Series C round led by DST Global, with Sequoia China, Tencent, Hillhouse Capital, Gobi Partners, Horizons Ventures and Square Peg returning; the company then disclosed a valuation for the first time, above US$1 billion. The same site reported in April 2020 a US$160 million Series D round that added ANZi Ventures, the investment arm of ANZ Bank, and Salesforce Ventures to returning investors, bringing total funding to US$360 million, again from the company's announcement; a later report mentions a March 2021 extension without its size or investors. None of these reports states an investor's stake. 5 6 7 8

sources in this section

  1. Media source · src-024 identified by category only · Media
  2. Media source · src-084 identified by category only · Media
  3. Company statement source · src-037 identified by category only · Company statement
  4. Media source · src-030 identified by category only · Media
  5. Media source · src-031 identified by category only · Media
  6. Media source · src-032 identified by category only · Media
  7. Media source · src-033 identified by category only · Media
  8. Media source · src-034 identified by category only · Media

2Series E to Series H, 2021–2026

figureFunding rounds in the retained records Amounts and valuations as announced by Airwallex or reported from its statements; "reported" marks rounds dated by a press report rather than the company's own announcement. Lead investors are those named; no investor's stake is stated.
RoundDateAmountValuationLed byEvidence
Pre-Series AJuly 2016US$3 millionNot statedGobi Partnersc-fund-pre-a
Series AMay 2017 (reported)US$13 millionNot statedTencentc-fund-series-a
Series BJuly 2018 (reported)US$80 millionNot statedTencent and Sequoia Chinac-fund-series-b
Series CMarch 2019 (reported)US$100 millionAbove US$1 billionDST Globalc-fund-series-c
Series DApril 2020 (reported)US$160 millionNot statedNot statedc-fund-series-d
Series ESeptember 2021US$200 millionUS$4 billionLone Pine Capitalc-fund-series-e
Series E1November 2021US$100 millionUS$5.5 billionLone Pine Capitalc-fund-series-e
Series E extensionOctober 2022 (reported)US$100 millionUS$5.5 billionNot statedc-fund-series-e-2022
Series FMay 2025US$300 millionUS$6.2 billionNot statedc-fund-series-f
Series GDecember 2025US$330 millionUS$8 billionAdditionc-fund-series-g
Series HJune 2026US$320 millionUS$11 billionAdditionc-fund-series-h

analysisAccording to two trade reports of the company's announcements, in September 2021 Airwallex raised US$200 million in a Series E round at a US$4 billion valuation, led by Lone Pine Capital, with the new investors G Squared and Vetamer Capital and the existing investors 1835i Ventures (formerly ANZi), DST Global, Salesforce Ventures and Sequoia Capital China. In November 2021 Lone Pine led a further US$100 million at a US$5.5 billion valuation, taking total funding to US$802 million; no investor's stake is stated. A news agency, relaying the company's statement, reported in October 2022 a US$100 million extension at an unchanged valuation from existing investors including Tencent Holdings, Sequoia Capital China and Lone Pine, joined by the Australian superannuation fund HostPlus and a North American pension fund that is not named. On 21 May 2025 Airwallex announced a US$300 million Series F round at a US$6.2 billion valuation, including US$150 million of secondary share transfers, with Square Peg, DST Global, Lone Pine Capital, Blackbird, Airtree, Salesforce Ventures and several Australian pension funds, and Visa Ventures as a strategic investor. 1 2 3 4

analysisOn 8 December 2025 Airwallex announced a US$330 million Series G round valuing it at US$8 billion, led by Addition with T. Rowe Price, Activant, Lingotto, Robinhood Ventures and TIAA Ventures. Robinhood Ventures Fund I's certified shareholder report filed with the SEC lists, as of 31 March 2026, 1,173,709 shares of Series G preferred stock of Airwallex (Cayman) Limited acquired on 21 November 2025, at a cost and fair value of US$25,000,002. In June 2026 Airwallex announced US$320 million of Series H funding at an US$11 billion valuation, led by Addition, with Baillie Gifford, Hummingbird, QED Investors, T. Rowe Price, Hedosophia, Haun Ventures, Washington University in St. Louis and Amex Ventures. A personal-finance magazine counted seven rounds and more than US$1.5 billion of venture capital over ten years, including from AirTree, Blackbird and Square Peg; counts differ depending on how extensions are treated. A venture database also lists Greenoaks Capital Partners, Grok Ventures and Skip Capital as Series D investors and Hermitage Capital in the Series E round, without stakes or dates, and an Australian financial newspaper wrote in 2023 that Grok Ventures, the investment company of the Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes, had invested. No announcement in the retained records names these four investors. 5 6 7 8 9 10

sources in this section

  1. Media source · src-034 identified by category only · Media
  2. Media source · src-036 identified by category only · Media
  3. Media source · src-035 identified by category only · Media
  4. Company statement source · src-026 identified by category only · Company statement
  5. Company statement source · src-027 identified by category only · Company statement
  6. Robinhood Ventures Fund I, Form N-CSR certified shareholder report for the period ended 31 March 2026 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR) · 31 Mar 2026
  7. Media source · src-024 identified by category only · Media
  8. Media source · src-076 identified by category only · Media
  9. Research source · src-054 identified by category only · Research
  10. Media source · src-105 identified by category only · Media

3Reported stakes

analysisNo share register of Airwallex (Cayman) Limited is public or among the retained records, so the stakes below are reported figures. A US business magazine reported in June 2026 that Jack Zhang owns 12 per cent of Airwallex, a stake it valued at US$1.3 billion after the US$11 billion round. An Australian newspaper reported in January 2026 that Square Peg Capital accounts for the largest stake, without giving its size, that Blackbird Ventures and Airtree Ventures also hold shares and that the major Chinese backers include Tencent and HongShan Capital; in April 2026 it named Square Peg, Blackbird, AirTree and Tencent as the largest backers. In 2021 Square Peg's co-founder Paul Bassat told the newspaper the firm had been a shareholder since 2017 without a board seat. Senator Tom Cotton's June 2026 letter says Tencent and HongShan reportedly hold a combined stake of more than 20 per cent, while Zhang has said Tencent holds a passive stake of less than 10 per cent and does not have a board seat, a statement a business magazine reports from the company's published response; neither figure comes from a share register. An Australian business magazine wrote in 2025 that Airwallex does not comment on the shareholdings of investors or founders, relaying Liu's remark in another press report that she did not know which investor had the largest stake but that no investor had an outsized one. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

sources in this section

  1. Media source · src-024 identified by category only · Media
  2. Media source · src-074 identified by category only · Media
  3. Media source · src-072 identified by category only · Media
  4. Media source · src-071 identified by category only · Media
  5. Media source · src-084 identified by category only · Media
  6. Senator Tom Cotton press release and letter to Treasury Secretary Bessent on Airwallex Office of U.S. Senator Tom Cotton · 17 Jun 2026
  7. Media source · src-041 identified by category only · Media

4The founders' fund

analysisOn 28 July 2021 Airwallex announced Capital 49, a venture capital fund set up by its founders in cooperation with the company, which aimed to raise US$200 million from the founders and other investors for companies in Airwallex's ecosystem; Jack Zhang was named its founder, and the fund had made two fintech investments. The announcement does not identify the fund's legal entity or jurisdiction. 1

sources in this section

  1. Company statement source · src-053 identified by category only · Company statement

timeline · 2016–2026

  1. Airwallex announces a US$3 million pre-Series A round led by Gobi Partners c-fund-pre-a
  2. US$13 million Series A round led by Tencent reported c-fund-series-a
  3. US$80 million Series B round led by Tencent and Sequoia China reported c-fund-series-b
  4. US$100 million Series C round led by DST Global reported, valuing Airwallex above US$1 billion c-fund-series-c
  5. US$160 million Series D round reported, with ANZi Ventures and Salesforce Ventures c-fund-series-d
  6. US$200 million Series E round led by Lone Pine Capital at a US$4 billion valuation c-fund-series-e
  7. US$100 million Series E extension at a US$5.5 billion valuation reported c-fund-series-e-2022
  8. Airwallex announces a US$300 million Series F round at a US$6.2 billion valuation c-fund-series-f
  9. Airwallex announces a US$330 million Series G round at a US$8 billion valuation c-fund-series-g
  10. Airwallex announces US$320 million of Series H funding at an US$11 billion valuation c-fund-series-h

cite this dossier

DossierTwist, “Airwallex Pty Ltd: ownership, licences and regulatory scrutiny”, dt.025, 25 October 2026, https://dossiertwist.com/dossiers/airwallex-pty-ltd/

Free to read, cite and republish with credit under CC BY 4.0: credit “DossierTwist” and link to the dossier.

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