Mexico City-based fintech Klar has raised $70 million in equity funding at a valuation of $500 million. In this round of funding General Atlantic doubled down to its $70 million financing last July during Klar’s Series B. Other participants in the round include Prosus Ventures, Quona Capital, Mouro, IFC, Acrew and Endeavor Catalyst. Also, WTI provided $20 million in venture debt. In total, the company has raised over $150 million in equity funding since its 2019 inception.
Klar offers a “100% digital, transparent, free and secure alternative to traditional credit and debit services.” One of its biggest advantages is that its “cost to serve a user” is about 1/20 of what the incumbents pay.
During the past 12 months, Klar has rapidly grown. The fintech experienced a “7x” year-over-year increase in revenue, added 1.4 million customers and originated over $100 million worth of loans.
“One of the figures that we consider the most relevant with regard to our traction is that 40% of our users are getting access to financial products they historically didn’t have access to, for the first time — through Klar. So not only is it a big market that we can compete for market share in, but it’s a market that keeps expanding as we’re able to serve different segments better than the legacy banks.” Co-founder and CEO Stefan Möller told TechCrunch in an interview.
Looking ahead, Klar plans to expand into adjacent markets and to fortify its credit offering and build more borrowing and investment products. To date, the startup has about 400 employees divided in two main hubs in Mexico City and Berlin.
