Singapore-based digital banking group Tyme has become the first startup from Southeast Asia to enter the unicorn club this year after raising fresh funding at a valuation of $1.5 billion.
The fintech startup has raised $250 million in an oversubscribed Series D round led by Brazilian neobank Nubank, which injected $150 million, according to a statement.
The deal also marked the first investment from M&G’s impact strategy Catalyst, which chipped in $50 million. Tyme’s existing shareholders, such as Tencent, Apis Partners, BII, and Blue Earth provided the rest of the capital.
The money will help Tyme scale operations, diversify its product range and expand its customer base while pursuing its growth plans in Vietnam and Indonesia, according to a separate statement from M&G.
The group’s banking app in South Africa, TymeBank, provides cash advances for low-income and rural communities in return for future sales to support small enterprises to drive economic growth and employment.
Launched in 2022, its product in the Philippines, GoTyme Bank offers a suite of financial services, such as bank account opening and debit cards. GoTyme Bank secured $22.85 million in equity funding from its parent companies this year.
“We are excited by the value that Nubank’s thought partnership and advice can bring to Tyme, particularly in areas such as data analytics, credit risk management, product development and marketing — levers we believe are key to achieving leadership in our markets,” said Coen Jonker, Co-Founder and CEO, Tyme Group.
Earlier in February, DealStreetAsia reported that Tyme received $56 million from Tencent Holdings, Apis Partners, Norrsken22 and other investors. The firm announced raising a $77.8 million pre-Series C round in 2023.
GCash’s parent company Mynt, which is backed by Warburg Pincus, earned nosebleed valuations this year at a time when Southeast Asian startups are raising downrounds amid the funding winter. Mynt’s valuation rose to $5 billion after securing a $393 million investment from MUFG Bank and another $393 million investment from Ayala Corporation.
Regional startups recorded 134 equity deals in the third quarter of 2023, raising $979 million, according to DealStreetAsia’s SE Asia Deal Review: Q3 2024. This is the first time since 2019 that quarterly proceeds have fallen below the $1-billion mark.
