Sequoia-backed Airwallex is stepping up its game by eyeing strategic M&A opportunities in Europe, signaling a significant move to bolster its fintech capabilities and global reach. For entrepreneurs, startup founders, and business owners in Europe, this development points to not only a potential shift in the fintech landscape but also lessons on scaling and expansion. As someone who has founded multiple startups and navigated diverse markets from the perspective of both an insider and a strategist, I recognize the importance of understanding both the opportunities and the pitfalls in such an ambitious move.
Why Airwallex’s European M&A Plans Matter
Airwallex is not just another fintech company. It combines cutting-edge technology with a remarkable growth trajectory. Founded in 2015 in Melbourne, Airwallex has reached unicorn status, with a valuation of over $5.5 billion as of its most recent funding round. Backed by notable investors such as Sequoia Capital, DST Global, and Salesforce Ventures, the company’s focus on cross-border payments and global financial infrastructure is reshaping how businesses manage their finances. Its mission, “empowering businesses to grow without borders”, is highly reflective of the shifting economic landscape where digitalization and globalization converge.
For Europe, Airwallex’s interest in acquisitions is a meaningful signal. The region is a fintech hotspot due to its open banking regulations, collaborative ecosystem, and a steady influx of early-stage innovation. Airwallex’s focus on integrating deeply into this environment aligns with a wave of international scaleups capitalizing on Europe’s regulatory support and highly fragmented financial markets.
Europe’s Appeal for Fintech M&A
Drawing from my experiences navigating the European startup ecosystem, it’s evident why Airwallex is targeting the region:
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Fragmented Markets with Local Needs: The complexity of different currencies, languages, and consumer preferences plays directly into Airwallex’s cross-border financial strength. For companies offering a unified solution to these local challenges, Europe is ripe with opportunity.
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Open Banking Regulations: Europe’s regulatory frameworks, such as PSD2, foster innovation by enabling third-party developers to create new services that leverage financial data. Airwallex could acquire startups already compliant and established in this space.
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Innovative Startups: Europe is bursting with early-stage startups building niche solutions in payments, compliance (regtech), wealth management, and AI-driven financial tools. Acquiring such startups would offer not just technology advantages but also talent integration.
According to Sifted, the European fintech sector saw over $10 billion in funding in 2023 alone. Leading cities such as London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Berlin are incubators of cutting-edge innovation that larger firms like Airwallex are hungry to integrate.
The Strategy Behind Airwallex’s M&A Moves
As someone who has both acquired and competed with various startups, I see Airwallex’s strategy not as a mere market-entry exercise but as a market dominance play. Let’s break it down:
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Plugging Service Gaps: Through acquisitions, Airwallex can quickly and efficiently enhance its product offering. Whether by integrating payment gateways, compliance automation tools, or AI-driven finance management solutions, buying is often faster than building.
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Customer Acquisition: For a company scaling quickly, the acquired European startups may come with built-in customer bases. This reduces the growth curve and allows Airwallex to cross-sell its existing solutions.
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Market Licenses: Many financial markets, particularly in Europe, require stringent regulatory licenses like e-money or payment institution licensing. Acquiring businesses that already hold such licenses accelerates entry into those markets.
This approach is especially capital-efficient in fintech, where trust and compliance are paramount, two qualities that take considerable time to build organically.
Key Stats Highlighting the Momentum
Understanding the numbers gives us deeper insights into Airwallex’s trajectory:
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Funding Milestones:
- Total funding raised to date exceeds $1.2 billion.
- Latest round (Series E) added $100 million, with participation from investors like Lone Pine Capital and Tencent.
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Revenue Growth: Its EMEA division recently demonstrated 271% growth year-over-year (source: Airwallex’s newsroom). Transaction volumes increased 145% during the same period, a clear indicator of demand for its services.
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Market Size: The global payments market is projected to hit $3 trillion by 2030, offering enormous potential for players like Airwallex expanding their infrastructure worldwide.
Lessons Entrepreneurs Can Learn from Airwallex
Airwallex’s decision to scale through M&A is a masterclass for growing businesses:
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Think Global, Act Local
No matter how scalable your solution may appear, international expansion requires a nuanced understanding of local markets. Airwallex is targeting acquisitions that give them this edge in Europe. -
Don’t Reinvent the Wheel
Building every part of your strategy from scratch can be time-consuming and resource-intensive. Airwallex recognizes that acquiring smaller, specialized players can deliver a competitive advantage faster. -
Strategic Capital Allocation
Using raised funds for investments that amplify growth magnifies ROI. Entrepreneurs should focus on capital efficiency, ensuring every investment drives clear results. -
Expand Intelligently
Rapid, uninformed scaling often backfires. Airwallex is betting on thoughtful, targeted acquisitions rather than blanketing its presence across geographies.
Common Mistakes Fintechs Should Avoid During Scaling
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Overestimating Market Fit
Just because a product succeeds in one region doesn’t mean it will resonate elsewhere. Entrepreneurs often misjudge cultural and regulatory differences. -
Underestimating Compliance Complexities
Expanding into Europe means navigating GDPR, PSD2, and other financial regulations. Lack of understanding here can delay market entry or lead to compliance failures. -
Growing Too Quickly
A reactive rather than calculated strategy for M&A can lead to onboarding weak assets or duplication of existing services.
Will Airwallex’s Strategy Pay Off?
From an entrepreneurial perspective, Airwallex’s European ambitions are bold but calculated. Its deep pockets and strategic focus on solutions that complement its existing offering position it well to succeed. However, M&A can be a double-edged sword. For Airwallex, success depends on acquiring not just innovative businesses but ones that seamlessly integrate with its mission and operational infrastructure.
Looking ahead, 2025-2026 will tell us whether Airwallex can bridge fintech innovation with seamless scalability. For startup founders and business owners watching from the sidelines, this is the playbook to study.
Airwallex’s strong intention to embed itself into European fintech through strategic acquisitions proves one thing: startups dreaming of international scale must always think beyond borders. As for European startups, this opens the doors for partnerships, accelerations, and yes, potential acquisitions that redefine the financial landscape, globally and locally. Keep watching; the next fintech revolution may just start with this move!
FAQ
1. What is Airwallex and why is it significant in fintech?
Airwallex is a global payments and financial infrastructure company focused on cross-border payments, managing multi-currency financial operations, and empowering businesses to grow internationally without borders. Discover the story of Airwallex
2. How much funding has Airwallex raised so far?
Airwallex has successfully raised over $1.2 billion across its funding rounds as of 2023, with notable contributors including Tencent, Sequoia Capital, Salesforce Ventures, and DST Global. Learn more about Airwallex's funding milestones
3. What is driving Airwallex’s interest in European M&A deals?
Airwallex’s interest is influenced by Europe’s open banking regulations, fragmented financial markets, and innovative fintech startups, which align with its expansion and product goals. Explore Airwallex’s European strategy
4. What growth has Airwallex shown in Europe recently?
Airwallex’s EMEA division demonstrated a 271% growth in revenue and a 145% increase in transaction volumes year-over-year, indicating strong demand for its services. Read about Airwallex’s growth in EMEA
5. Why is Europe appealing for fintech acquisitions?
With fragmented financial systems, PSD2 regulation creating innovation pathways, and a vibrant startup ecosystem, Europe presents lucrative opportunities for fintech mergers and acquisitions. Understand Europe’s fintech trends
6. What role do acquisitions play in Airwallex’s strategy?
Acquisitions enable Airwallex to quickly plug service gaps, acquire regulatory licenses, integrate new technologies, and expand its global customer base. Explore Airwallex’s strategic plans
7. What types of technologies or fintech solutions is Airwallex likely to acquire?
Airwallex may target startups specializing in regtech, payment processing, AI-driven financial tools, or compliance automation to enhance its offerings. Learn about fintech technologies
8. Who are Airwallex’s major investors?
Airwallex’s key investors include Sequoia Capital, DST Global, Salesforce Ventures, Tencent, Lone Pine Capital, Hermitage Capital, and 1835i Ventures. Discover Airwallex’s investor connections
9. How can startups benefit from Airwallex’s M&A activity?
European fintech startups can benefit through partnerships, acceleration programs, or potential acquisitions, fostering growth and contributing to a global financial ecosystem. Understand Airwallex’s impact in fintech
10. What lessons can entrepreneurs learn from Airwallex’s expansion strategy?
Entrepreneurs can learn to scale globally while targeting local markets intelligently, allocate capital efficiently, and prioritize strategic acquisitions for faster growth. Explore lessons from Airwallex
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.
About the Publication
Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.
Mission and Purpose
Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.
Key Features
The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:
- Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
- Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
- AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
- SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
- Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
- Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials
Impact and Growth
Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:
- 5,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
- 100+ startup tools built
- 5,000+ pieces of articles and news written
- 1,000 unique business ideas for women created
Partnerships
Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.
Recognition
Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.