Peter Thiel-Backed German Online Bank N26 Worth $3.5B

Online bank N26 is now Germany’s highest-valued startup with a 3.5 billion valuation following a $170 million extension of Series D funding.

The mobile bank now ranks among the most valuable European startups as well as being in the top ten most valuable FinTechs worldwide, N26 announced in a press release.

All previous investors from the Series D funding round in January 2019 extended their investment in the company, including Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures, Tencent, and Insight Venture Partners. N26 has raised more than $670 million to date.

“Once again, our investors have placed their trust in us. This will allow us to accelerate our global expansion outside Europe. The further increase in valuation is a great testament to the company’s development over the last months,” says N26 co-founder Maximilian Tayenthal.

The additional funds are earmarked for expansion efforts in Europe, the U.S., and Brazil. The company will also invest in innovative new features like Shared Spaces, which lets customers create shareable sub-accounts.

“N26 is one of the few tech companies that bring digital innovation from Europe to the U.S. We see customers all around the world waiting for banking to change and are thankful to support N26 on that journey to transform retail banking globally,” said Andrew McCormack, partner at Valar Ventures based in NYC.

N26 now serves more than 3.5 million customers in 25 European markets, with 16 million transactions per month since launching in January 2015.

“The notion that the best consumer startups are all born in Silicon Valley is increasingly outdated. N26 is a prime example of digital innovation moving in the opposite direction, from Europe to the U.S. and beyond,” said James Fitzgerald, general partner at Valar Ventures.

The bank launched its mobile banking app in the US on July 11, its first market outside of Europe. The company plans to launch next in Brazil and aims to reach over 50 million customers worldwide in the coming years.