Checkout.com was founded by a college dropout and just became Europe's most valuable startup after raising $450 million at a $15 billion valuation

<p><img src="https://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5ffc5ceebde805001980c1b6-2400/20190512_750_4463_1 (1).jpg" alt="Guillaume Pousaz, Checkout.com" data-mce-source="Checkout.com" data-mce-caption="Guillaume Pousaz, Checkout.com CEO and cofounder" border="0"></p><p></p><bi-shortcode id="summary-shortcode" data-type="summary-shortcode" class="mceNonEditable" contenteditable="false">Summary List Placement</bi-shortcode><p>Payments firm Checkout.com is now Europe's most valuable startup after raising $450 million at a $15 billion valuation.&nbsp;</p><p>It's one of the largest recent funding rounds in Europe and makes the company the fourth most valuable privately owned fintech worldwide.</p><p>Founded by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/profile-of-2-billion-checkoutcom-and-founder-guillaume-pousaz-2019-8">college dropout Guillaume Pousaz</a> in 2012, Checkout.com raised Europe's biggest ever Series A round of $230 million in May 2019, at a valuation of $2 billion. That was followed by a $150 million Series B in June last year at a $5.5 billion valuation.</p><p>Checkout.com powers the payments process of major companies like soon-to-be-public food delivery unicorn Deliveroo, fintech giant TransferWise, and Adidas.</p><p>"We had an exceptional year last year, particularly towards the end of 2020 with around $1 billion a week of e-commerce volumes," Checkout's founder and CEO Pousaz told Insider. "We had no plans to raise but had remained in touch with investors who have a long-term view of the business. This is going to be a generation-defining company."&nbsp;</p><p>The startup claims to have added more than 500 new enterprise clients in 2020 including Coinbase, Pizza Hut, H&amp;M, Grab, Klarna, Farfetch, and messaging app Telegram. The company's competitors include Stripe, last valued at $36 billion, and Dutch payment firm Adyen, which went public in 2018.</p><p>Checkout's financial filings for the full-year 2019, parts of which have been examined by Insider, show revenue of $146.4 million, up from $74.8 million in 2018. Adjusted EBITDA was $5.47 million for the year. The firm's full filings are not yet publicly available, and were due to be filed with the UK's company register on 31 December. Pousaz said that the accounts were filed on time at the end of December, but could take two weeks to appear.</p><p>Its Series C was led by hedge fund giant Tiger Global Management with participation from Greenoaks Capital and existing investors amid a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hedge-funds-private-equity-startups-coronavirus-returns-2020-9">boom in interest in fintech startups from the private equity world</a>. Checkout.com claims to have tripled its payment processing volume during 2020 as e-commerce boomed during the pandemic.&nbsp;</p><p>The global payments market was worth just under $2 trillion in 2019, according to<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/financial-services/our-insights/accelerating-winds-of-change-in-global-payments"> research from McKinsey</a>. Checkout's staggering valuation is almost triple the price it reached six months ago.</p><p>"We've never been chasing league tables and have always been very disciplined in our approach," Pousaz added. "Our product in the hands of some of the most forward-thinking merchants in the world which is a validation in our business. Our investors understand public markets and are investing in the industries of tomorrow."</p><p>Amid a growth in demand for fintech, high valuations are everywhere. Payments rival Stripe could seek a $100 billion valuation in its next round, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-24/payments-startup-stripe-is-said-in-talks-to-raise-new-funding'sref=gni836kR">Bloomberg reported</a>. Similarly, US challenger bank Chime <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/18/chime-is-now-worth-14point5-billion-surging-past-robinhood-as-the-most-valuable-us-consumer-fintech-.html">hit a new $14.5 billion valuation last year</a> while <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/klarna-fundraise-650-million-10-billion-2020-9">buy now, pay later giant Klarna raised $650 million at a near $11 billion valuation</a> in September 2020.</p><p>When asked about <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/europes-tech-unicorns-look-to-repeat-us-ipo-successes-in-2021-2020-12">the hot IPO market</a> and Checkout's chances of going public, Pousaz said: "It's certain that we will be a public company, we have public market investors on our cap table but there is no pressure on us. The reality is that our Series A was around 20 months ago so our timing is dependent on our roadmap."</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-buzzy-fintech-startups-see-cryptocurrency-boom-as-price-surges-2021-1" >Fintech startups like Revolut and Luno are seeing a boom in demand from consumers rushing to invest in cryptocurrencies amid major bitcoin interest</a></strong></p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/checkout-raises-450m-funding-15bn-valuation-2021-1#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-its-like-travel-during-coronavirus-outbreak-planes-airports-virus-2020-3">Here's what it's like to travel during the coronavirus outbreak</a></p>
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