Europe's most valuable startup Revolut could increase its valuation by half

British fintech company Revolut, founded by Russian-born Nikolay Storonsky and Ukrainian Vlad Yatsenko, is in talks to raise $1 billion in new funding, with the entire company valued at $65 billion, the Financial Times and Bloomberg reported. The FT named Revolut as Europe's most expensive startup. It serves 60 million customers. The company intends to use the proceeds to expand its business in the United States.

Revolut is discussing raising about $1 billion in investment at a valuation of $65 billion, Financial Times and Bloomberg wrote, citing sources. The US fund Greenoaks Capital (its portfolio includes Stripe, Robinhood, Databricks and Discord) may become the leading investor. In addition, Abu Dhabi sovereign fund Mubadala, which first invested in Revolut last year when the startup was valued at $45 billion, is in talks to participate, the FT noted. The startup is discussing the sale of both new and some of its existing securities, the publications' interlocutors said.

Morgan Stanley is coordinating fundraising and selling shares, Bloomberg sources said. In documents sent to investors, the company's revenue is expected to reach $5.9 billion in 2025 and $9.3 billion in 2026, the agency said.

Revolut, Greenoaks and Balderton declined to comment to the FT. Mubadala did not respond to the newspaper's request.

Revolut is growing rapidly, Bloomberg writes: last year the company served more customers than HSBC Holdings, and revenue grew by 72% - to $4 billion. Now the fintech has 60 million users. According to Bloomberg's source, Revolut expects to reach 100 million users by the third quarter of 2026.

Bloomberg in February wrote that Revolut shareholders were expressing a willingness to sell their stakes provided the company was valued above $60 billion. A $65 billion valuation would mean Revolut is up 44% from last year's investment round.

Revolut wants to use the money from the round to fund its global expansion plans, the Financial Times reported. Europe's most expensive startup wants to find a way into the attractive U.S. market in hopes that its user-friendly app will attract users. Revolut holds a banking license in the European Union, and in 2024 received one in the UK as well: this has increased the likelihood of approvals in other key jurisdictions, including the US, says the FT. Revolut CEO Nicholas Storonsky in November 2024 hinted at a possible attempt to get a banking license in the U.S. and said the company aims to reach 100 million active users in 100 countries, Bloomberg noted. 

Revolut sees the U.S. as a key market and would prefer to IPO there, the Financial Times reported in March. In 2023, Storonsky said that the startup would prefer an IPO in New York rather than London because of British bureaucracy. However, in March 2024 Revolut's head of UK operations Francesca Carlesi confirmed that Revolut was considering the London exchange as well. But at the time, she also emphasized that a listing is not yet among Revolut's priorities.

In the summer of 2024, Revolut CEO Martin Gilbert noted that the company needs at least another year before it can go public. According to a Bloomberg source, the company wants to achieve a valuation of at least $100 billion before the IPO.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor