Airwallex prepares for IPO ‘in the next two years’

Australian-born payments giant Airwallex plans to “get IPO ready in the next two years”, according to billionaire founder and chief executive Jack Zhang, setting the groundwork for a bumper exit for its early investors including Tencent and Paul Bassatt’s Square Peg.

Airwallex is worth $US5.6 billion ($8.3 billion) as of its last capital raise and Mr Zhang told AFR Weekend that it was set to deliver $350 million of annual recurring revenue in 2023 once the accounts were signed off. It represents a rapid rise for the eight-year-old start-up, which was conceived in a Melbourne cafe.