Chinese internet giant Tencent puts $40m bet on True Layer – The Times
What happened: Chinese internet giant Tencent is leading a $40 million funding round for TrueLayer, a London-based startup that has built a developer platform which allows third parties such as fintech and retail companies to access bank APIs and consumer data. Other potential backers include Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek.
Why it’s important: Tencent’s expanding investment portfolio is said to be double the size of Chinese rival Alibaba and larger than US tech giants Google and Facebook. The company said in February that it has no plans to scale back its investments this year. Tencent’s investment spree is driven largely by its growing businesses including fintech and social media as well as its plans for global expansion. The investment from Tencent is not only a significant financial boost for True Layer, but it could potentially help with accessing other markets in Asia and Latin America, where the internet company has an increasing fintech presence.