The hardware-wallet maker Ledger announced an extension to its Series C financing round. The round is being raised at the previous valuation — €1.3bn (~$1.42bn at the time of writing).
Ledger is proud to announce our Series C extension fundraising round.
We continue our mission of bringing ease-of-use and uncompromised security to your digital value.
Read what our CEO @_pgauthier has to say:https://t.co/JSHyi5jKIQ pic.twitter.com/aGi2FhOXCs
— Ledger (@Ledger) March 30, 2023
The company opened a Series C financing round in June 2021. At the time it managed to raise $380 million.
In a discussion with Bloomberg, Ledger’s chief Pascal Gauthier said the firm had already closed the first closing of the fundraising and attracted the bulk of the €100 million (~$109 million) planned.
A second phase is planned for mid-April. The company emphasised that, due to high investor interest, a third phase is likely.
After FTX collapse in November 2022, analysts noted record hardware-wallet sales by Ledger and Trezor.
“People have suddenly realised: ‘Wow, leaving cryptocurrency on exchanges is really dangerous. But 2023 will be even better for us, because now you can’t trust money even to a Swiss bank,’” said Gauthier.
He confirmed that November was the best revenue month. Revenue from the Ledger Live app for buying and selling digital assets jumped 200% year on year.
The company will deploy the funds to grow the business by expanding its distribution network, increasing the number of devices produced and expanding its product range.
New investors in the first phase of the round were True Global Ventures, Cité Gestion SPV, Digital Finance Group and VaynerFund. 10T, Cap Horn, Morgan Creek and Cathay Innovation increased their investments in Ledger.
The sole placement agent was Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE, with legal counsel provided by Jones Day.
Bloomberg first reported plans for Ledger to raise no less than $100 million in August 2022.
Back in December, the maker unveiled the new Ledger Stax. Its creation involved Tony Fadell, the former head of the iPod development and release division at Apple.