dLocal Achieves Rapid Valuation Growth

dLocal, a startup specializing in cross-border payments, has secured $150 million in new funding, resulting in a company valuation of $5 billion. This achievement comes less than seven months after a previous funding round of $200 million, which valued the company at $1.2 billion.

Effectively, the Uruguayan company, founded five years ago, has seen its valuation increase fourfold within a short timeframe.

Investment Details

The latest funding round was spearheaded by Alkeon Capital, with additional investment from BOND, D1 Capital Partners, and Tiger Global. Previously, General Atlantic led the funding round that closed last September.

This earlier investment established dLocal as Uruguay’s first unicorn and one of the most highly valued startups in Latin America.

Expanding Global Reach

dLocal facilitates connections between global merchants and a vast consumer base in emerging markets. The company operates in 29 countries across Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa.

Over 325 global merchants utilize dLocal’s platform to accept more than 600 local payment methods.

• These merchants include prominent names like Amazon.
• Booking.com also leverages the platform.
• Dropbox, GoDaddy, MailChimp, Microsoft, Spotify, TripAdvisor, and Zara are also customers.

Furthermore, dLocal’s platform is used for issuing payments to contractors, agents, and sellers.

Leadership Changes

Alongside the funding announcement, dLocal has appointed Sumita Pandit as its new COO.

Pandit brings extensive experience from JP Morgan, where she served as global head of fintech and managing director, and also from Goldman Sachs.

“Sumita is a highly respected and accomplished fintech investment banker,” stated dLocal CEO Sebastián Kanovich. “She has been instrumental in advising numerous successful fintech companies as they scaled to global leadership positions.”

Jacobo Singer, the former COO, has been promoted to the position of president of dLocal.

Future Plans

The newly acquired capital will be allocated towards enhancing dLocal’s technology and furthering its geographical expansion.

Alkeon General Partner Deepak Ravichandran highlights the significant growth potential within emerging markets for digital payments.

“Global merchants often encounter complexities when accessing these markets, including a multitude of local payment methods and cross-border regulations,” Ravichandran explained. “dLocal’s platform provides a single, integrated payment solution, enabling merchants to reach billions of customers, process payments, distribute funds, and manage settlements globally.”