Fintech firm WeLab has completed the initial close of its Series C-1 US$75 million fund-raising, led by Allianz X,  the digital investment unit of the Germany-based insurer and asset manager Allianz Group, bringing its total strategic financing since inception in 2013 to more than US$600 million.

WeLab and Allianz have also established a strategic partnership to drive fintech collaboration across Asia’s financial services landscape. The new funding, together with the partnership, will bolster the acceleration of WeLab’s pan-Asian growth strategy and expansion of digital financial services.

The company operates multiple online financial services in Hong Kong, mainland China, and Indonesia, including digital banking and consumer finance businesses, with close to 50 million individual users and over 600 enterprise customers.

WeLab, one of the first fully-licensed digital banks in Asia since obtaining its licence in Hong Kong in early 2019, aims to take advantage of the vast opportunities in Asia where its total addressable market size for financial services is close to US$3 trillion in annual revenue.

The market is rapidly evolving, with accelerated digital adoption resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic having transformed people’s money habits.

“Both companies share a vision on delivering advanced technology solutions to customers in Asia,” says Simon Loong, WeLab founder and group CEO. “We look forward to expanding our geographical presence and bringing our technology into these new markets with Allianz. We will be expediting our hiring this year, aiming to add around 100 hires to support future growth.”