Highest valued fintech in Germany: N26 raises €775M+ at over €7.76B valuation; to hire 1000 new employees

Berlin-based N26, a challenger bank that offers mobile banking solutions to customers, has announced record-breaking funding of $900+M (approx €775.57+M) in its Series E round. The company claims this is the largest funding round for a digital bank in Europe to date.

The funding sees the unicorn’s valuation reach more than $9B (approx €7.76B), making it the highest valued fintech company in Germany and amongst the top 20 fintechs in the world.

Investors in this round

The current round was led by New York-based tech investors Third Point Ventures and Coatue Management, along with Dragoneer Investment Group. N26’s existing investors also participated in the round.

Heath Terry, Partner at Third Point Ventures, says, “N26 has established itself as a leading tech-forward global digital bank. We are excited to provide capital and strategic support to accelerate N26’s work to make digital retail banking accessible to millions.”

To date, N26 has raised close to $1.8B (approx €1.55B) from established investors including Insight Venture Partners, GIC, Tencent, Allianz X, Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures, Li Ka-Shing’s Horizons Ventures, Earlybird Venture Capital, Greyhound Capital, and Battery Ventures, among others.

Capital utilisation

The proceeds from this round will help the company expand its mobile banking offering. The funds will also help scale the company’s global team as it aims to onboard 1,000 new team members in the coming years. The talents will be hired in the areas of product, technology, and cybersecurity.

Speaking on the development, Valentin Stalf, CEO and co-founder of N26, says, “This recent financing round solidifies the fact that retail banking as we know it has changed. With our fresh capital, we are in pole position to become one of the biggest retail banks in Europe, all without a single branch.” 

In addition, N26 will also expand its employee equity pool while broadening Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) participation to 100 per cent of employees as part of one of the largest ESOP programs in Europe. 

“It is hugely important to us that we can share the success of N26 with our employees. Without them, we would not be the company we are today,” adds Maximilian Tayenthal, co-CEO & co-founder of N26.

Manage your bank account on-the-go

Founded in 2013 and launched initially in early 2015 by Valentin Stalf and Maximilian Tayenthal, N26 is a digital bank for consumers and businesses. 

Its services include deposit accounts, money transfers, bill payments, NFC-enabled debit cards for online/offline purchases, and cash withdrawal, among others. The platform also offers tools for transaction monitoring. Currently, N26 has more than 7 million customers in 25 markets. 

The company has 10 offices in locations including Amsterdam, Berlin, Barcelona, Belgrade, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Vienna, New York, and São Paulo, and a team of 1500 employees globally.

The company claims that it has witnessed so much growth that its banking products may be temporarily redirected to a waiting list for new customers. However, N26 reports that it has agreed with the German regulator to temporarily onboard a maximum of 50,000 – 70,000 customers per month.

N26 currently operates in countries including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the US, where it operates via its wholly-owned subsidiary, N26 Inc.