Africa-focused Crypto Platform Luno Gets Backing from Google’s Capital G

South Africa-based cryptocurrency platform, Luno has received backing from a syndicate of equity investors including Google’s Capital G. The deal was closed by Luno’s parent company Digital Currency Group (DCG) in a significant secondary investment round of more than $700 million and is now valued at $10 billion. For Luno this means access to the capital needed to fuel continued expansion as well as the expertise and backing from leading investors including SoftBank, Google’s Capital G and GIC. 

Luno has customers in Africa, Asia and Europe. The company has grown from 2m to more than 9m customers worldwide since 2019 and Luno is expanding to the US in 2022.

 All You Need to Know

• Digital Currency Group (DCG) closed a secondary investment round.
•  SoftBank’s Vision Fund II and Latin American Fund led a syndicate of equity investors that included Google’s Capital G, Ribbit Capital, GIC, Tribe Capital, and Emory University in purchasing more than $700 million of DCG stock from existing investors.
•  DCG Founder and CEO Barry Silbert did not sell any shares as part of the secondary transaction.
• DCG has only raised $25m in primary capital since the company was formed in 2015.

DCG highlights:

•  DCG has now invested in more than 200 blockchain companies in 30+ countries around the world.
• DCG will exceed $1 billion in revenues in 2021
• At the parent company level, DCG now has ~30 employees. Across the entire organization, including its wholly-owned subsidiaries, it has ~1,000 employees in 10 offices on 4 continents.
•  DCG is the parent company of several subsidiaries that have emerged as digital asset leaders:

Luno is a consumer-focused digital asset platform that has thrived in the emerging and frontier markets, providing digital asset education, knowledge, and investment tools to customers in Africa, Asia, and Europe. The company has grown from 2 to more than 9 million customers worldwide since 2019, and Luno is expanding to the US in 2022.

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