Thailand-based financial technology startup Ascend Money has raised US$150 million to become the Southeast Asian country’s first unicorn, with a valuation of at least $1 billion.
The funding was raised from a group of investors including China’s Ant Group, Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group, and US investment firm Bow Wave Capital Management.
Ascend Money says it will use the funding to expand its digital financial services, including digital lending, digital investment and cross-border remittances across Southeast Asia.
“The company is expanding the platform and services to help improve the accessibility, affordability and impact of financial services,” Suphachai Chearavanont, founder and chairman of Ascend Money, says in a statement on September 30.
Ascend Money operates in Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines and Vietnam, and currently has around 50 million customers across Southeast Asia.
