The Fintech startup, Viva Republica, that manages the popular Peer-To-Peer (P2P) mobile payment app ‘Toss’ has gained the unicorn status with its latest fundraising of US $80 million. The company now has become US $1.2 billion in valuation.
Investment boost from Silicon-Valley giants
The latest investment for ‘Toss’ came from Silicon Valley-based venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins and Ribbit Capital. This the venture capitalists’ first investment in South Korea. Kleiner Perkins is known for supporting tech giants like Amazon, Google, and Twitter. Viva Republica had raised US $40 million in June 2018 from Sequoia China and GIC Pte. With the December funding, the total funds raised by the company to date becomes nearly US $200, since 2013.
Viva Republica is planning to use the latest funds for business expansion, creating more user base and it is also planning to launch its own brokerage for securities trading. The company wants to explore opportunities beyond South Korea to Southeast Asian countries.
Viva Republica’s CEO and co-founder, Lee Seung-Gun, a dentist turned entrepreneur said about the company’s latest achievement, “I am truly proud of our team for achieving this great milestone, but this is only the beginning of our journey. We will continue to focus on making a meaningful impact on the daily financial transactions of our existing and future users.”
Viva Republica has 10 million registered users for Toss, about 20% of South Korea’s population. The P2P app allows users to transact about $1822 per day. The startup claims to reach a $18 billion transaction rate in 2018.
TOSS: Revolutionising and Raising the standards for Mobile Finance
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