The Argentine neobank made the announcement during a visit to its offices by President Javier Milei.
Ualá , the neobank founded by Argentine entrepreneur Pierpaolo Barbieri, closed a new Series E investment round for US$300 million and reached a valuation of US$2.75 billion.
The announcement was made during the visit of the Argentine President Javier Milei to the company's facilities. "Uala is a success story of which we should feel proud as a country. It is another example that the only way to generate more jobs and get people out of poverty is more capitalism," said the president in his speech and stated that "the country is entering its best moment of the last 100 years."
The round is led by Allianz X, the investment arm of Allianz Group, one of the world’s leading insurers and asset managers. Also participating are new and existing investors including Stone Ridge Holdings Group , Tencent , Pershing Square Foundation , Ribbit Capital , Alan Howard, Goldman Sachs Asset Management , Soros Fund Management LLC , Rodina , SoftBank Latin America Fund , Jefferies , D1 Capital Partners, Claure Group , AlleyCorp and Monashees .
In a statement, Ualá noted that this investment represents the largest private round of financing in Latin America in the last three years, as well as Allianz X's first investment in the region. "In addition, it is positioned as the largest capital raise for a company based in Argentina since Ualá's Series D in 2021, confirming the company's remarkable growth and leadership in the industry," it said.
Ualá will use the funds to expand its financial ecosystem and accelerate its growth in the markets where it operates. In just seven years, it has created a complete financial services offering for more than eight million users, with banking licenses operating in the region. It provides the possibility of accessing credit options, investment tools, payments and collection solutions for businesses. In addition, it offers accounts that generate returns based on the current balance, with very competitive rates in each of the countries in which it is present.
Ualá’s rapid growth in Argentina reflects the potential of its business model in Latin America. In Mexico, the company has achieved sustained monthly growth of 14% in its active users since obtaining its banking license. In addition, it developed UaláScore, a proprietary credit assessment model based on artificial intelligence, which evaluates the profile of users based on their activity in the app and offers personalized financial solutions to expand access to credit in the region.
“As a digital financial platform with its own banking licenses, a broad range of products and strong customer growth since 2017, Ualá is uniquely positioned to participate in the growth of Latin America’s financial markets ,” said Nazim Cetin, CEO of Allianz X. “As a long-standing investor backed by one of the global leaders in insurance and asset management, Allianz X is the perfect partner to support Ualá’s bold next steps.”
“The future inspires us. This Series E round will boost our financial ecosystem, now with fully integrated and operational banks in our markets. The trust and support of our investors reaffirms our vision: we will soon be the largest bank in Argentina, and we aim for the same leadership in Mexico and Colombia. Our main objective is to offer the best product: we will continue to provide an excellent value proposition for our users in the three countries – and grow beyond,” said Pierpaolo Barbieri, founder and CEO of Ualá.
In parallel with Allianz X's investment, Ualá will enhance its ability to explore opportunities in the insurtech industry by benefiting from the experience, cutting-edge technology and shared resources with Allianz. This strategic partnership will drive mutual growth throughout Latin America and accelerate Ualá's expansion, further reinforcing its commitment to offering the best and most innovative financial solutions.
