Stripe and Airwallex shift from acquisition talks to rivalry
Original: Once close enough for an acquisition, Stripe and Airwallex are now going after each other
Why This Matters
Demonstrates how rejection of major acquisition can lead to independent unicorn success
Airwallex CEO Jack Zhang rejected Stripe's $1.2 billion acquisition offer in 2018 when the company had only $2 million in annualized revenue. Airwallex now claims $1.3 billion in annualized revenue with 85% year-over-year growth.
In 2018, Stripe offered to acquire Airwallex for $1.2 billion, representing a 600x revenue multiple when the Melbourne-based fintech had $2 million in annualized revenue. Sequoia's Michael Moritz facilitated discussions at his San Francisco home, arguing Patrick Collison was a generational founder. After initially accepting, Airwallex CEO Jack Zhang ultimately declined, supported by two of his three co-founders. Zhang cited his vision to build financial infrastructure enabling any business to operate globally as a local company. The decision proved successful - Airwallex now reports over $1.3 billion in annualized revenue, 85% year-over-year growth, and processes nearly $300 billion in transaction volume. Zhang, who immigrated from China to Australia at 15, worked multiple jobs through university before founding the company.