Israeli fintech firm Tipalti soars to over $8b valuation after $270m investment

Israeli fintech firm Tipalti, a developer of payments and compliance solutions, has soared to a valuation of over $8 billion after a fresh $270 million investment, the company announced on Wednesday.

Tipalti, which in Hebrew means “I handled it,” raised $150 million last October at a valuation of $2 billion. This Series F round, led by Swiss multinational G Squared, allowed Tipalti to quadruple its worth following a strong year, the company indicated.

Tipalti said it processes over $30 billion in total annual payments volume, growing 120% year over year. The company was founded in 2011 by Chen Amit, who serves as CEO, offering a cloud-based platform that allows clients to handle financial tasks such as payments to suppliers (accounts payable), tax and VAT compliance, and invoice management, across borders in a range of currencies.

Its customer roster includes Amazon, Twitter, GoDaddy, Vimeo, and GoPro.

London-based hedge fund Marshall Wace joined the funding round as a new investor, as did Morgan Stanley Counterpoint Global. Tipalti’s existing investors Zeev Ventures, Durable Capital Partners, and 01 Advisors, a fund founded by former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo and COO Adam Bain, also participated in the investment.

Tipalti indicated that it will use the funds to boost customer operations, offer more products, and expand globally.

Amit said the investment “will enable Tipalti to add more to our product lines and capabilities in the next 18 months than we have over the past 10 years combined.”

“We are on a journey to transform financial operations, relieve finance leaders from those mundane, cumbersome, risky tasks, and elevate the financial capabilities for high-velocity organizations to rival those of the Fortune 5000,” Amit said.

In April, Tipalti acquired brought Israeli fintech startup Approve.com, a cloud procurement solutions provider, to expand its portfolio of offerings.

Tipalti’s solutions target mid-market companies, defined as those with revenues between $10 million and $1 billion, and which account for more than one-third of employment and about 40% of GDP, the company said in a statement Wednesday. Driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, such companies have had to change how they manage their financial operations, as CFOs (chief financial officers) have had to handle increasingly complex responsibilities, Tipalti said, citing internal research.

“We believe Tipalti is reshaping how businesses manage their financial operations, and their growth and industry-leading retention rates are evidence that they are on a mission to solve important challenges for their customers,” said Larry Aschebrook, founder and managing partner of G Squared. “The company’s differentiated solutions, combined with their strategic vision and ability to execute, position Tipalti as a true disruptor in the global payables landscape.”

“We see a huge opportunity in the target market that is largely underserved currently and look forward to working together with Tipalti,” Aschebrook added.

Headquartered in Israel, Tipalti has offices in San Mateo, London, Plano (Texas) and Toronto, and employs over 700 people worldwide.

Israeli fintech companies have enjoyed unprecedented growth in 2021, in part to digital acceleration brought on by the pandemic two years ago. According to a Deloitte Catalyst study, 24% more fintech and insurtech companies reached $1 billion valuations in 2019-2021, compared to 2011-2018.​

In September, Tipalti competitor Papaya Global, a Tel Aviv-based global payroll and payment management platform, more than tripled its valuation to $3.7 billion following its third investment in less than a year. Papaya said its services are used in over 140 countries, and revenue growth was at over 300% year-over-year for the past three years. The company’s clients include Intel, Microsoft, Toyota, and Wix.