Viva Republica, a South Korea-based mobile financial services app developer backed by payment technology provider PayPal and mobile chipmaker Qualcomm, has received $40m in funding, Bloomberg reported today.
The cash came from venture capital firm Sequoia Capital China and GIC, the sovereign wealth fund owned by the Singaporean government, and it increased the company’s overall funding to $117m.
Viva Republica is the developer of Toss, an app with more than 8 million registered users that enables them to transfer money rapidly online. The platform also offers services such as loans, investment opportunities and credit score monitoring and management.
PayPal joined Goodwater Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Altos Ventures and Partech Ventures to supply $48m of series C funding for the company in March 2017 at a post-money valuation of more than $250m.
Qualcomm’s corporate venturing unit, Qualcomm Ventures, had participated in Viva Republica’s $23.7m series B round the year before alongside Goodwater Capital, Altos Ventures and KTB Network.
SG Lee, Viva Republica’s co-founder and CEO, said in a statement quoted by The Business Times: “This bridge round is a strategic investment which will enable us to explore major opportunities such as investments and acquisitions to become the go-to service for all consumer financial needs while providing superb user experience.”