UK challenger Monzo has secured $430 million (£340 million) in a funding round led by CapitalG, Alphabet’s independent growth fund.
Rumours of Alphabet’s interest in the British digital bank were doing the rounds since late last year, with the tech giant wanting to invest in Monzo before its plans to go public.
The latest funding round also saw participation from Google Ventures, HongShan Capital and existing investors including Passion Capital and Tencent, and increases Monzo’s post-money valuation to $5 billion (£4 billion).
Monzo said it will use the fresh capital injection to boost its expansion plans after what it said was a year of “record growth” – with the company moving into profitability, onboarding 2 million customers in 2023 alone, and launching new products, including instant access savings and Monzo Investments. While the digital bank did not confirm any plans, it is reportedly looking to enter the US market.
“We’ve built incredible momentum in the business over the past few years which has led to us reaching more than 9 million customers, turning profitable and launching even more ground-breaking products,” said TS Anil, CEO of Monzo. “With backing from global investors, we have the rocket fuel to go after our ambitions harder and faster, building Monzo into the one app that sits at the centre of our customers’ financial lives.”
Gene Frantz, general partner at CapitalG, said: “In an industry long rife with stagnation and uninspired customer service, Monzo has emerged as the innovative, customer-centric bank
that consumers have long craved. Led by CEO TS Anil, Monzo is an exceptional company combining the best of banking and technology.”
Founded in 2015 and headquartered in London, Monzo claims it is the largest digital bank in the UK by customer numbers. The challenger last raised $500 million in a funding round in 2021 at a valuation of $4.5 billion.
