China-based online lending platform WeLab secured $156m today in a series C round that included e-commerce firm Alibaba’s Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund and financial services firm China Construction Bank (CCB).
The two were part of a consortium featuring five existing backers and undisclosed new investors.
WeLab lends money to consumers through an online platform that uses artificial intelligence and risk management technology to assess applications, in addition to supplying banking technology to traditional financial services providers.
The company operates through six subsidiaries across Hong Kong, China and Taiwan and said it has 41 million users. It filed for an initial public offering in Hong Kong in July 2018 but took the decision to delay the IPO five months later.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority awarded WeLab a virtual banking licence in April 2019 that will allow it to set up a digital banking subsidiary to be known as WeLab Bank.
The series C cash will fund the launch of WeLab Bank as well as strengthening the company’s business-to-business activities while it prepares to expand into Southeast Asia in the next two years.
Simon Loong, WeLab’s founder and chief executive, said: “This financing will be used to further develop and broaden our platform as a fintech enabler.
“Further investment into technology research and development will enable us to apply these innovative technologies around the region to roll out additional products and services for our customers to provide holistic financial services digitally.”
WeLab had previously raised $400m, most recently pulling in $220m in debt and series B-plus equity financing from Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund, CCB, fellow bank Credit Suisse and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) in late 2017.
Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional led WeLab’s $160m series B round the year before, participating alongside financial services firm ING Bank and the state-owned Guangdong Technology Financial Group.
The company had already closed a $20m series A round in 2015 that included media company Tom Group, Sequoia Capital, DST Global and Iconiq Capital.
