Sequoia Capital China has joined Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC to invest US$40 million round in Viva Republica, Korea’s fintech startup and maker of financial services app Toss.
With the new round, the company’s total amount of funding has reached US$116 million, according to Toss’ announcement.
Started as a peer-to-peer money transfer service in 2015, Toss has now expanded into a platform providing a full suite of financial services. Beyond money transfers, the platform also provides services including credit score management, customized loan and insurance plans, as well as multiple investment services.
With more than 8 million registered users, a customer base that has nearly doubled from a year ago, Toss is expected to process over US$17 billion in transaction run-rate and has a total trackable monthly transaction volume of about US$10 billion.
“Toss’ evolution as a mobile financial services platform is very impressive. In addition to a seamless user experience and robust technology stack, the company’s monetization strategy and revenue growth are also remarkable,” said Glen Sun, partner of Sequoia China. “In Toss, we see all the signs of a successful company that we’ve witnessed in our portfolio – companies that have grown to become Asia’s leading unicorns. We strongly believe that Toss will dominate the Korean market and become a fintech giant.”
This funding is GIC’s first investment in a startup in Korea and Sequoia China’s first investment in a Korean company.
GIC was established in 1981 to manage Singapore’s foreign reserves. GIC invests across a wide range of asset classes, including equities, fixed income, private equity, real estate and infrastructure in over 40 countries.