Swile reaches Unicorn status

Swile, formerly known as Lunchr, has established itself in three years as a reference in the restaurant voucher market. So much so that it has just obtained its Unicorn status thanks to a new round of financing.

FACTS

• Swile just announced its latest fundraising round, the fourth in its history. The FinTech has raised 200 million dollars (175 million euros) in a series D round.

• At the head of this round, Softbank, a reference investor in the global market of new technologies. It has also provided financing for companies such as Uber, Revolut and Lemonade. Eurazeo, Index and Bpifrance Large Venture also participated as historical investors.

• This new round of funding allows Swile to reach the status of a new French Unicorn in record time.

• The FinTech also takes advantage of this announcement to present its two new services:

• Swile Card, an aggregator card for all employee services (meal vouchers, gift vouchers, mobility...);

• Swile APP, a mobile application (whose beta version is 12 months old), presented as a tool for employee engagement and a lever for HR performance.

CHALLENGES

• Breaking a record: Just recently, Sorare, a start-up pioneering NFT technology in the world of virtual soccer, made headlines by reaching Unicorn status a little less than three years after its launch. Swile is close to this record today by becoming a Unicorn 3 years and 8 months after its creation.

• Expanding internationally: By 2024, Swile plans to expand beyond its national borders into Latin America. This commitment is in line with Swile's acquisition of the start-up Vee Beneficios in early 2021, which should allow it to enter the Brazilian market. Brazil represents a large market, with nearly 50 million people eligible for employee benefits.

• Recruiting: In addition to its 120 employees currently based in Brazil, Swile will use its new funds to hire up to 1,000 employees (compared to 500 today) by the end of 2022, divided between France and Brazil.

MARKET PERSPECTIVE

• Swile struck a blow on the market at the beginning of 2021 by beating Edenred to the punch as Carrefour's new meal voucher provider.

• Today, FinTech holds 13% of the employee benefits market in France, covering the needs of a wide range of companies, from very small businesses to major technology companies (Doctolib, Airbnb and Spotify) and very large groups.

• The successive takeovers of the star-tup Leeto by the Up Group (Chèque Déjeuners) and of Wedogood by Sodexo in recent months must also have contributed to inflate the valuation of Swile, a reference challenger.