Brazilian fintech company QI Tech has announced a $50 million extension to its Series B round led by General Atlantic. This complements an initial investment of $200 million six months ago, and the company's valuation has surpassed his $1 billion mark.
Latin America is thus welcoming new unicorns to its shores, despite the challenges posed by the recent spike in interest rates, which has significantly reduced the valuation of tech startups across the region. Investment firm Across Capital also participated in the transaction.
“QI Tech is taking intentional and strategic steps to create a comprehensive suite of financial infrastructure products that will support our business expansion and better serve the needs of our customers.” said Pedro Mac Dowell, CEO and Founder. “Achieving unicorn status is a reflection of hard work.”
QI Tech goes against the trend
The Sao Paulo-based Brazilian fintech company was already bucking the trend in October, scoring a major success with a $200 million Series B funding round also led by General Atlantic. But at the time, the company chose to keep its valuation secret.
The company now aims to apply this funding to accelerate its growth strategy across the region. “We provide a complete infrastructure for companies looking to offer financial services to their customers, including banking-as-a-service and anti-fraud tools,” the company said.
Founded in 2018, the company provides customers with a set of technology APIs that support a variety of digital products. This is part of the booming wave of fintechs that have emerged in recent years to build much-needed digital banking infrastructure.
The company enables banks, fintechs, and non-financial companies to integrate digital banking tools such as digital onboarding, facial recognition, credit scoring, digital account opening, wire transfers, Pix payments, and credit underwriting.
rising market
The banking-as-a-service market is steadily expanding in Latin America, driven by the growth of the region's e-commerce sector and the increasing adoption of digital banking in previously cash-based economies.
According to recent research, the BaaS market is expected to cross the $2 billion threshold this year, with further growth expected in the coming years. Market research firm Mordor Intelligence predicts annual growth for the regional industry to be steady at 7%, driven by rising demand from non-bank companies looking to integrate financial services into their services.
“We believe QI Tech is uniquely positioned to be a challenger to existing legacy solutions,” said Luis Ribeiro, Managing Director and Co-Head of the Brazil Office at General Atlantic. “As opportunities for digital payments and credit adoption continue to emerge, we have the momentum to become a leading diversified player in Brazil's financial infrastructure ecosystem.”
