MEXICO CITY: Mexican financial technology (fintech) firm Klar says it has raised US$190mil through a Series C funding round, led by US private equity firm General Atlantic that valued the company at more than US$800mil.
Klar has positioned itself as an alternative to legacy institutions by offering lower-cost, app-based financial products to a broad swath of Mexican consumers and small businesses.
The transaction, including US$170mil in equity and US$20mil in venture debt, came as the company looks to expand its presence in Mexico – its solo market – by accelerating product development and exploring growth opportunities in an increasingly crowded fintech landscape.
In the round, previous investors such as Prosus, IFC, Mouro Capital and Quona Capital were joined by new ones, including Santander Group, Grupo Televisa and Grupo Formula.
“With the recent breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, we now find ourselves able to build today what we once thought wouldn’t be possible until 2050,” founder and chief executive officer Stefan Moller Alvarez del Castillo said in a statement.
“This funding gives us the fuel to get there even faster.” Latest data from Mexico’s statistic institute showed cash is still king among payment methods, with over 70% of adults using it for daily transactions, though the use of cards and transfers has increased around four percentage points from 2021 to 2024.
The pool of fintechs seeking to compete in the country has grown in recent years, with other firms such as Plata and Argentina’s Ualá raising capital this year, but statistics showed slow progress in the adoption of formal financial products.
Earlier this year, Klar started the process to get a banking licence in Mexico and acquired assets from Tribal to enter the business-to-business market with payments and financing solutions for small and medium enterprise companies.
Klar, founded in 2019, is nearing US$300mil in annual revenue, according to the statement. The company is looking for an annual run rate of US$500mil before it starts considering an initial public offering, a level it is forecasting to achieve in the third quarter of 2025, Juan Sarmiento, vice-president of finance, said in an interview last year. — Bloomberg
