Fintech scale-up Pleo, which offers a simplified expense management tool and smart company cards, has just extended its Series C round by $200m (USD), bringing the total raised to $350 million.
Having reached unicorn status in July 2021, the new funding has nearly tripled its valuation to $4.7 billion and means Pleo consolidates its position as the largest spend management company in Europe.
Pleo Expands to Europe
The extension was led by the technology-focused investment manager, Coatue Management, followed by Alkeon Capital, joining Pleo's Series C. There was further support from the existing investors, Bain Capital Ventures, Thrive Capital, Creandum, Kinnevik, Founders, Stripes, and Seedcamp.
The new funds will enable Pleo to accelerate their growth plans further, including a massive roll-out across Europe from 2022. Having announced their imminent entrance into Austria, Pleo now has eyes on a further fourteen EU territories, starting with Finland, the Netherlands, France, and Portugal.
Jeppe Rindom, Co-founder and CEO at Pleo, says: "We're thrilled to announce the extension of our Series C, welcoming Coatue and Alkeon to Pleo.
Our growth in the last year has been exponential, and the investment community has recognized our leading position. With such great investment partners on board, the future is extremely bright for Pleo, and our mission to transform the way businesses look at spend management."
"The fact is that we didn't need to continue to raise this year - but our Series C saw such demand that this extension was made possible. We have big ambitions to grow further across Europe, helping more businesses to solve their spending challenges and empower their teams. We're talking about 15 new territories in Europe, meaning we want to be operating in over twenty countries by 2023."
"The money helps, but we're not complacent. We'll continue being Pleo: pushing forward, doubling our 400-strong team, iterating our product, building more tools and features, taking us from invoice management and employee reimbursement into lending and beyond. It's a hugely exciting time and we look forward to the next stage of Pleo's growth."
Pleo's Goal in 2025
The funds raised will also further Pleo's commitment to acquire one million engaged users by the end of 2025. They're already seeing up to 1,000 new customers getting started with Pleo every month in the last six months, spurred by the launch of a freemium model this autumn, which brought the solution available to an even wider customer base.
Likewise, investing in their 400+ team is a priority. This will allow Pleo to continue to iterate its product, offering an increasing number of tools and features that can help both growing and established businesses to simplify and better manage their company spending.
Michael B. Gilroy, General Partner of Coatue Management, says: "We were impressed by how Pleo has already redefined the way that over 20,000 companies think about managing their expenses, saving them time and lowering costs while increasing transparency.
"We are proud to partner closely with Jeppe and the rest of the team to help drive their next phase of growth - as they continue to extend across Europe and work to transform how spend management works within businesses."
