Singapore-founded travel eSIM provider Airalo has raised $220 million in a funding round led by European private equity firm CVC Capital Partners, lifting its valuation above $1 billion and making it the latest entrant to the region’s unicorn club.
The growth round includes $185 million from CVC’s Asia Fund VI, with participation from existing investors Peak XV and Antler Elevate, Airalo said in a statement.
Airalo, co-founded by Abraham Burak and Bahadir Ozdemir, said it will use the fresh funds to expand its customer and enterprise offerings, enhance its mobile app, and roll out new products such as unlimited data bundles and voice packages.
“This raise allows us to drive innovation across every part of the user journey by delivering more flexible plans and a faster, more seamless experience,” said Ozdemir.
Established in 2019, Airalo provides the world’s largest e-SIM platform that allows users, especially international travellers, to access lower-cost digital SIM packages by mobile networks in destinations across the globe.
It allows users to download its app, choose a destination and package, install eSIM, and then activate it for use.
On its website, the startup said the popular countries for its e-SIM marketplace include the Philippines, Japan, the US, Thailand, Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, Australia, Vietnam, Canada, Malaysia, and Taiwan.
Siddharth Patel, managing partner at CVC, said Airalo’s scalable digital model and organic growth put it in a strong position to lead the $1 billion travel eSIM market, which is still in its early stages.
“The digital travel eSIM market, whilst already worth US$1 billion, is at the very early stages of becoming the main method by which consumers can receive the highest quality experience abroad, at a much lower price than they pay for roaming today,” Patel said.
Airalo’s backers also include e& capital, KPN Ventures, Rakuten Capital, Singtel Innov8, Liberty Global Ventures, and Orange Ventures, among others.
Airalo raised $60 million in its Series B funding round in August 2023, backed by Peak XV Partners’ Surge.
