How Airwallex Used Asia as Its First Global Launchpad
Airwallex, a fintech unicorn born in Melbourne, didn’t scale the usual way. Instead of chasing Silicon Valley first, they looked east, launching in Hong Kong and scaling across Southeast Asia before entering the U.S. market. Their story proves that for many Aussie founders, Southeast Asia is not a secondary market, it’s a strategic one.
CATEGORY:
Strategy
DATE:
September 5, 2025
Who is Airwallex?
Founded: 2015 in Melbourne
Product: Global payments & financial infrastructure for businesses
Customers: From SMBs to high-growth tech companies
Funding: $900M+ from Tencent, Sequoia China, and others
Valuation: $5.5B+
Why Asia First?
Born from a Regional Problem: Airwallex’s founders experienced friction importing from China.
So they built a solution rooted in Asia’s real needs, not U.S. assumptions.
Capital with Context: Airwallex raised early rounds from Tencent and Sequoia China.
These investors brought not just capital, but market access and regional knowledge.
Early Traction in SEA: Asia’s fintech boom, especially in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Vietnam, gave them product-market fit, early enterprise partners, and regulatory clarity.
Financial Profile:
Seed + Series A ($13M USD)
Led by Tencent and Sequoia China.
These were not just “funds with capital”, they were strategic powerhouses with deep fintech knowledge, regulatory influence, and access to Chinese and Southeast Asian markets.
Investment went toward product development and regional licensing, particularly in Hong Kong and China.
Series B ($80M USD)
Led by DST Global, Hillhouse Capital, and Horizons Ventures (Li Ka-Shing’s fund).
Investors known for backing regionally dominant infrastructure plays.
Capital used to build banking and FX capabilities, onboard more enterprise clients in SEA, and launch in Singapore.
Series C–E ($500M+ USD)
Included participation from global firms like Salesforce Ventures, ANZ, Greenoaks, and Lone Pine Capital.
Valuation jumped to $2.5B in 2021, and then $5.5B by 2022.
New capital focused on global expansion, talent acquisition, and financial licensing in the UK, U.S., and EU.
Results
10+ global offices
Raised $900M+
Unicorn status
Scaled from Asia → Australia → Europe → U.S.
Customers in 100+ countries
“Infrastructure is global from day one, but scaling across Asia takes a different kind of mindset. Airwallex had that early on.”
— Dan Hu, Investor at Sequoia China
And it started not in Silicon Valley, but in Southeast Asia.
What Founders Can Learn
Launch where the problem is.
Raise capital from investors who understand your market.
Don’t default to the U.S, explore SEA first.
Asian markets can be launchpads, not just growth stages.