Lydia raises €40m in Tencent-led Series B funding round
French mobile payments start-up Lydia has raised €40 million in a Series B funding round led by Chinese conglomerate Tencent.
Lydia co-founders Antoine Porte and Cyril Chiche
The round, also featuring NewAlpha Asset Management, XAnge, and prior investors CNP Assurances, is the fourth for Lydia since its founding in 2013. It has raised more than $73 million in that time.
Lydia claims to have three million users in its home country, and that 25% of French people between 18 and 30 operate an account with the firm.
A founding member of France Fintech, the firm says that its name is used by French millennials as a verb, similar to the phrase “Venmo me” in the US.
“We built this powerful network effect engine with very little investment,” says Cyril Chiche, co-founder and CEO of Lydia.
“With the new funding round and a partner like Tencent, who will help us save a lot of time and avoid costly mistakes in this scaling-up phase, we have all the reasons to be very ambitious.”
Related: French start-up Pixpay raises €3.1m to tap younger generation
Investment director of Tencent, Ma Danying, adds: “We’re glad to support Lydia’s vision in driving the cashless evolution in Europe.
“With its engaged user base and execution capability, we are confident that the company will capture the opportunities and become a European leader in mobile financial services.”
