Nium, a platform for business-to-business payments, announced Monday that it has raised over $200 million in Series A funding and its valuation has risen to $1 billion.The company is now based in Singapore but has moved to the Bay Area. It claimed that the investment would make it the first unicorn for B2B payments from Southeast Asia.Riverwood Capital was the lead investor in the round. Other angel investors included DoorDashs Gokul Rajaram and FIS Vicky Bindra, and Tribe Capitals Arjun sethi. Prajit Nanu, CEO and co-founder of Nium, said that the company has raised $300 million since then.Experts say the B2B payments industry is hot but underdeveloped. Nanu stated that Nium, which was seeking $150 million to fund its Series D round, had received $300 million commitments from interested investors and settled for $200 million.Although this is our fourth or fifth fundraise we have not had this level of interest since we had our term sheets in five working days. This is due to the fact that we have created a highly regulated global platform, which allows us to access a lot more networks. It is a place where payment is visible. Our core powers frictionless commerce and allows anyone to use our platform.The new Nium round fuels a firestorm of activity by companies all trying to tap into a global B2B payment market worth $120 trillion annually. Paystand raised $50m in Series C funding last week to make B2B transactions cashless. Dwolla raised $21m for its API, which allows companies to create and facilitate fast payments. Higo raised $3.3 million in March to do the same in Latin America. Balance is developing a B2B payment platform that allows merchants to offer multiple payment options. In February, Higo raised $5.5 Million.Nium's strategy is to offer access to a global payment network, including card issuance and accounts receivable. Nanu stated that customers can send money to more than 100 countries and pay in over 60 currencies. They can also accept funds in seven other currencies and issue cards to more than 40 countries. Nanu said that the company offers money transfer, card issuances, and banking licenses in eleven jurisdictions.Francisco Alvarez Demalde, Riverwood's co-founding partner, and managing partner, stated in an email, that software and regulatory licenses combined with the operation of a fintech infrastructure platform for corporates and neobanks are a global trend experiencing hypergrowth.Riverwood has been following Nium for many decades, and the firm's future vision is what attracted them to this round. Alvarez-Demalde stated that Nium has an incredible combination of a market opportunity, a talented founder, and team. We believe the company is well-positioned for global growth, based on secular technology trends such as increasing real-time payments capabilities and the proliferation cross-border commerce.Nium, which is a central payment infrastructure within one API, acts as a catalyst for cross-border payments, local account openings and card issuance. It also has a network partners, local market licenses and banking relationships that facilitate the transfer of money around the globe. All types of enterprises are integrating financial services into their consumer experience. Nium is a key global facilitator of this trend.Nanu stated that the new funding will allow the company to relocate to the United States. This country accounts for 3% of Niums revenues. He plans to increase this to 20% in the next 18 month, and expand in Latin America. The company also has a 12- to18-month runway to pursue M&A activities. To make India's market more accessible, Nium purchased virtual card issuer Ixaris in June. Wirecard Forex India was acquired in July. He plans to invest in product development, expand the company's payments network infrastructure and increase Niums 700-person staff.Nium has hundreds of corporate clients, and plans to add thousands more over the next year. Since 2015, the company has distributed more than 30,000,000 virtual cards and processed $8 billion in payments. The company's revenue increased by more than 280% year-over-year.Nanu stated that all of the growth has put the company on a path for an initial public offer. Nanu has spoken with people who will assist the company in formally launching that journey in the first quarter 2022.Nanu stated that unlike other companies raising money to create new products, our goal is to expand on the existing set of what we do. Although the U.S. market is new, we have a strong brand and will make the most of the new round to offer a better customer experience.
