Aspire closes $100m Series C funding round

By Leandra Monteiro

Aspire announced that it has closed an oversubscribed Series C round. The round saw Lightspeed and Sequoia Capital SEA, Paypal Ventures, LGT Capital Partners and existing backers Picus Capital and Mass Mutual Ventures investing $100 million.

Aspire, founded in 2018, offers businesses a unified suite of financial services including international payments, corporate cards, payable and receivable management, accessible via a single, user-friendly account.

“We are excited to partner with world-class investors to bring finance back to the driving seat of new age businesses in Southeast Asia,” said Andrea Baronchelli, Aspire, Co-founder and CEO. “From delivering real-time financial data, to fast and transparent cross-border payments, to empowering business teams with world-class spend management capabilities to move fast and move right – we look forward to empowering every modern business, big or small, with the right financial tools to realize their full potential.”

Aspire plans to use the funding to enhance its product offering further and expand its regional presence, while increasing its team to continue to innovate in the space.

“Aspire has emerged as a leader in the B2B fintech space in Southeast Asia, with a complete end-to-end product for managing business finance, a strong track record of growth, and solid fundamentals,” said Bejul Somaia, Partner at Lightspeed. “We are excited to partner with this world-class team to support their vision for the future of financial services in the region”.

With the fresh round of funding, Aspire is well-positioned to continue its growth trajectory and cement its position as a B2B FinTech in the rapidly-growing Southeast Asian economy. In 2023 the company plans to add more talent across the region and help further, build the SE-Asia tech ecosystem while maintaining a solid business model.