Konfio says now worth $1.3 bln with new capital

Mexico-based financial technology firm Konfio indicated on Wednesday that it has reached a US$1.3 billion valuation following the completion of a fresh investment round.

This new achievement brings the SoftBank-backed firm into the elite league of unicorns -a term used to refer to startups with a valuation higher than US$1 billion.

Just last year, used-car platform Kavak became the first officially recognized unicorn in Mexico, followed closely by cryptocurrency platform Bitso and payments solutions provider Clip.

Konfio, whose platform enables small businesses to secure the needed financing, revealed in a press release that its latest funding closed at US$235 million. The newly acquired capital will be used to expand its reach in a country that prides itself as Latin America’s second-largest economy.

The firm said that it will be on a constant look out for acquisition and integration opportunities.

Launched in 2014, Konfio also added that the said the funding round included a US$110 million extension to its Series E funding round, which had previously closed at US$125 million.

Tarsadia Capital and QED Investors led the most recent extension of the Series E round, with participation from returning backers IFC, Kaszek Ventures, Lightrock, SoftBank, and VEF.