Financial technology startup Nium announced on Wednesday that it has raised $50 million in new funds from investors and is planning an initial public offering within the next 18 months.
This fundraising round was led by an undisclosed Southeast Asian sovereign wealth fund and supported by venture capital firms BOND, NewView Capital, and Tribe Capital.
The new funding round values Nium at $1.4 billion, marking a 30% decrease from its previous valuation of $2 billion, achieved during its last venture capital raise in 2022.
Prajit Nanu, Nium’s CEO and founder, stated that the new capital will be used to focus on mergers and acquisitions, particularly targeting other growth-stage payment firms.
Nanu attributed the lower valuation to a broader decline in public market valuations of fintech companies. Fintech firms have seen their stock prices decline in recent years due to macroeconomic pressures such as high inflation and rising interest rates.
“Being realistic, when we raised in early 2022, public markets were thriving,” Nanu said. “The public markets have not been kind to fintech.”
IPO in 18 Months
Despite the lower valuation, Nanu remains optimistic about Nium’s growth prospects and is confident the company will go public within the next 18 months, aiming for an IPO in the third or fourth quarter of 2025.
He emphasized that valuation is not a primary concern and that market volatility means that the pricing of shares can vary.
“Whether you go public at $1 billion or $5 billion, it doesn’t matter. Valuation is only relevant when you get bought or go through an IPO,” he explained.
He cited the example of Stripe, which saw its valuation rise to $95 billion in 2021, then drop to $50 billion, and subsequently increase to $65 billion through secondary share transactions.
Not Interested in Crypto
Nanu also mentioned that he is not interested in acquiring companies in the cryptocurrency space, as he does not yet see significant merchant demand for crypto as a payment method.
“It’s on the very early side of infrastructure,” Nanu said. “Nium, in the end, is a layer on top of many banks around the world.”
“Banks have gone from ‘crypto is hot’ to ‘not crypto’ to ‘crypto,’” he added. “It’s not a one-size-fits-all situation.”
This stance comes despite a significant rise in cryptocurrency prices, such as bitcoin, which has surged approximately 150% in the last 12 months, driven by renewed investor interest following the approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the U.S.
Bitcoin has seen its price climb roughly 150% in the last 12 months.