Airwallex founder says he rejected Stripe's $1.2 billion acquisition offer; latest valuation reaches $8 billion.

According to Odaily Planet Daily, Airwallex founder and CEO Jack Zhang revealed in an article that back in 2018, Stripe offered to acquire Airwallex for $1.2 billion. At that time, the company's annual revenue was only about $2 million, corresponding to a valuation of approximately 600 times its revenue. Based on the offer at the time, Zhang's potential personal gain could have exceeded $2 billion, but the team ultimately chose to decline.

He stated that the company's annual recurring revenue (ARR) has reached $1 billion, and its latest funding round raised $330 million, increasing its valuation to $8 billion. According to a previous statement, this round was led by Addition, with participation from Activant, Lingotto, and TIAA Ventures, among others. Its valuation has increased by approximately 30% compared to the previous funding round six months ago.