Irish start-up Wayflyer raises $76m in funding

27 May 2021

Aidan Corbett and Jack Pierse. Image: Wayflyer

The financing platform will use the new funding to support marketing, product development and international expansion.

Wayflyer, a revenue-based financing and growth platform for e-commerce companies, has raised $76m in Series A funding in a round led by Left Lane Capital.

Other participants in the funding round included partners of DST Global, QED Investors, Speedinvest and Zinal Growth, the family office of Guillaume Pousaz.

Founded in 2019 by Aidan Corbett and Jack Pierse, Wayflyer provides e-commerce merchants with a range of financing and marketing analytics tools to help them access working capital, improve cash flow and drive sales.

With global e-commerce sales set to hit $4.2trn in 2021, the Irish start-up will use the new funding to support its marketing, product development and international expansion. The business is set to enter multiple new markets in the coming months.

To cope with demand and growth, Wayflyer has also expanded its debt facilities by an additional $100m and recently signed a major partnership with Adobe Commerce to further increase its capital deployment capabilities.

A ‘key player’ in e-commerce

Corbett, who is the company’s CEO, said Wayflyer aims to reduce the traditional barriers that e-commerce businesses face.

“Our rapid growth since launch demonstrates the strength of this proposition and our relentless focus on customer service, and we’ve only just scratched the surface of this enormous market,” he said.

“The number of direct-to-consumer brands launching every day continues to amaze us and we’re excited about the next stage of our mission to become the go-to-growth platform for merchants looking to realise their potential.”

Left Lane Capital partner Dan Ahrens said Wayflyer has quickly become a “key player” in the e-commerce ecosystem.

“They have unlocked growth for many entrepreneurs, and their strong customer reviews show that they are a deeply trusted partner of many leading brands,” he said.

“The Wayflyer team is world class and has a differentiated understanding of what drives scale in e-commerce markets. We are thrilled to work with them along this journey.”

Last October, Wayflyer raised $10.2m in seed capital in a funding round led by QED Investors, with contributions from Middlegame Ventures, Speedinvest and Fintech Growth Fund Europe.

The company is based in Dublin and also has offices in London, New York and Sydney.

Jenny Darmody is the editor of Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com