Fintech firm Checkout.com's valuation touches $40 billion after latest funding

(Reuters) - Checkout.com said its valuation more than doubled to $40 billion in a year, following a $1 billion investment in the financial technology company that will be used to launch products and further its involvement in the so-called Web3 space.

Several new and existing investors including Altimeter, Dragoneer, Franklin Templeton, Singapore's GIC, the Qatar Investment Authority, Tiger Global, the Oxford Endowment Fund, and a "large West Coast mutual fund management firm" participated in the round, the company said on Wednesday.

The fundraise comes a year after the London-based company's previous round of investment, in which it raised $450 million and notched a valuation of $15 billion.

Change in how consumers use financial services and a pandemic-driven rise in digital channels have drawn investor interest in fintechs, prompting global investors to ramp up bets on the sector.

Founded in 2012, Checkout.com offers electronic payment solutions that simplify payment processes for businesses. The company, which serves high profile names such as Netflix Inc, Grab Holdings and Coinbase Global Inc, also offers fraud monitoring services on its platform.

The latest funding will be used to invest in the United States market to meet high demand and launch a new platform to ease payments within online marketplaces, the company said.

Checkout.com, which is already testing a service to settle transactions for merchants with digital currencies, said it will also use the latest capital infusion to explore more opportunities in the Web3 - a term for a utopian version of the internet that is decentralized.

(Reporting by Manya Saini and Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)