- Companies
- Celo
Last Celo valuation
$750M
Undisclosed stage · Apr 2019
Last Celo funding round
$20M
Undisclosed stage · Feb 2021
Cumulative funding Celo raised
$67M
across 4 funding rounds
Key investors in Celo
Andreessen Horowitz
Greenfield
General Catalyst
Coinbase Ventures
Polychain
Lakestar
About Celo
Celo is an open blockchain platform designed for fast, secure digital payments to mobile phone numbers. Its ecosystem includes the Celo blockchain, the CELO token, and the cUSD stablecoin, along with a mobile wallet that lets users send peer-to-peer transfers using phone numbers, with early adoption in markets such as Kenya, Tanzania, and Argentina. The platform has since expanded beyond payments to support trading, lending, borrowing, and saving applications built by third-party developers.
Founded
2018
HQ
Website
Status
Privately held
Customer focus
B2C
Revenue model
Product sales, Subscription
Valuation
$750M (Apr 2019)
Celo Valuation
Celo is currently valued at $750M, based on its undisclosed-stage round in April 2019.
The $30M round was led by a16z crypto and Polychain, with participation from Greenfield and 9Yards Capital.
Celo valuation by funding round
| Date | Stage | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 2019 | Undisclosed stage | $750M |
Celo Funding History
Celo has raised a total of $67M across 4 funding rounds.
Celo's first fundraising round was a $7M Series A in June 2018. The most recent completed round was a $20M undisclosed-stage round in February 2021.
Celo funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2021 | Undisclosed stage | Andreessen Horowitz; Greenfield; Electric Capital | $20M | - | Celo is an open-platform blockchain built for fast, secure, and stable digital payments to mobile numbers. The ecosystem includes the Celo Platform (a decentralized proof-of-stake blockchain), the CELO token, the cUSD stablecoin, and the Celo Alliance for Prosperity comprising over 100 organizations including Andreesen Horowitz, Anchorage, Coinbase, GSMA, Mercy Corps, Grameen Foundation, and cLabs. By 2021, Celo had expanded beyond its original peer-to-peer payments use case to enable trading, lending, borrowing, saving, and earning rewards. The ecosystem grew substantially in 2021, with the number of developers on the Celo blockchain rising 619% to 3,957 and active builders increasing 637% to 848. Community initiatives including the launch of ReSource (a mutual credit protocol) and Kickstarter's announcement of a decentralized version on Celo demonstrated ecosystem expansion. By 2023, Celo had recorded 324 million total transactions (up from 200 million in 2022 and 71 million in 2021), generated 3.9 million total active addresses, and reached a peak of 275 transactions per second. The Celo Foundation reported $10.6 million in total expenses for 2023, a 53% decrease from 2022, and continued to fund operations primarily through programmatic sales of CELO assets from its treasury. |
| May 2020 | ICO | - | $10M | - | - |
| Apr 2019 | Undisclosed stage | a16z crypto (lead); Polychain (lead); Greenfield; 9Yards Capital | $30M | $750M | Celo, created by A Protocol Inc. (cLabs), is an open-source mobile-first blockchain platform designed to make decentralized financial services accessible via smartphone. The platform includes Celo Gold, a native digital asset, and Celo Dollar, a dollar-pegged stablecoin backed by a collateral reserve. The company developed a user-friendly mobile wallet enabling peer-to-peer transfers and payments using phone numbers, with early pilots launched in Kenya, Tanzania, and Argentina targeting emerging markets. In April 2019, Celo raised $30 million in a Series A funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z Crypto) and Polychain Capital, with participation from Greenfield Capital, at a post-money valuation of $750 million. This followed a $6.5 million seed round in June 2018 backed by a16z, Coinbase Ventures, General Catalyst, Social Capital, Lakestar, and prominent individual investors including Jack Dorsey, Naval Ravikant, and Reid Hoffman. By early 2020, Celo had closed an additional $20 million funding round with a16z, Greenfield One, and Electric Capital at a $1 billion valuation, followed by a $10 million token sale in April 2020 concurrent with mainnet launch, bringing total funding to over $65 million. |
| Jun 2018 | Series A | Linda Xie; General Catalyst; Julia Popowitz; Jack Dorsey; Coinbase Ventures; Future Perfect Ventures; Naval Ravikant; Avichal Garg; Kilowatt Capital LLC; Andreessen Horowitz; Curious Endeavors; Lakestar | $7M | - | Celo raised $6.5 million in a seed round on June 22, 2018, with investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase Ventures, General Catalyst, Lakestar, Jack Dorsey, and Naval Ravikant. Some sources list the date as June 25 or 27, 2018. The round matched the specified investors such as Avichal Garg, Curious Endeavors, Future Perfect Ventures, Julia Popowitz, Kilowatt Capital LLC, and Linda Xie. |
Who has invested in Celo?
17 investors have backed Celo across its funding rounds, including Andreessen Horowitz, Greenfield, General Catalyst, Coinbase Ventures, Polychain and Lakestar.
Lead investors include a16z crypto and Polychain.
Celo Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Participant | Jun 2018 | ||
| 2 | Participant | Apr 2019 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jun 2018 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jun 2018 | ||
| 1 | Lead | Apr 2019 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jun 2018 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jun 2018 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jun 2018 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jun 2018 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jun 2018 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jun 2018 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jun 2018 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jun 2018 | ||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all 17 Celo investors. Start Free Trial | ||||
Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
Sign up to see data on 350K+ funding rounds and disclosed revenue and EBITDA valuation multiples, from seed, through growth stage, to pre-IPO.
Start Free TrialAcquisitions by Celo
Celo has acquired 1 company to date.
Last acquisition by Celo was on August 13th 2020. Celo acquired Summa for undisclosed valuation.
Latest Acquisitions by Celo
| Description | - |
| HQ Country | |
| HQ City | - |
| Deal Date | 13 Aug 2020 |
| Valuation | undisclosed |
| EV/Revenue | |
| EV/EBITDA | |
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Celo acquisitions and their M&A valuation multiples. Start Free Trial | |
Celo Competitors
Celo competitors include listed companies like Sinodata, Global Infotech, IRESS and Sunyard Technology, and private ones like Zebec and Upvest.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private | $20M | - | $1B | 50.0x | ||
| Publicly listed | $128M | ($8M) | $748M | - | ||
| Publicly listed | $154M | $7M | $747M | - | ||
| Publicly listed | $396M | $103M | $754M | 2.3x | ||
| Private | $115M | - | $735M | 6.4x | ||
| Publicly listed | $307M | $10M | $722M | - |
Celo Public Comps
Celo is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Sinodata, Global Infotech, IRESS, Sunyard Technology, Mitek Systems, BitGo Holdings, Fujian Apex Software, Shanghai Amarsoft, PEXA Group and Alfa Financial Software.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $128M | ($8M) | 5.6x | - | (84.9x) | - | |||
| $154M | $7M | 4.8x | - | 106.4x | - | |||
| $396M | $103M | 2.1x | 2.3x | 8.2x | 8.3x | |||
| $307M | $10M | 2.2x | - | 69.2x | - | |||
| $180M | $37M | 4.1x | 3.7x | 19.9x | 11.2x | |||
| $16B | ($9M) | 0.1x | 5.5x | (125.1x) | 125.4x | |||
| $87M | $28M | 7.6x | 7.8x | 23.6x | 24.0x | |||
| $153M | $8M | 4.6x | - | 90.4x | - | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Celo competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about Celo
| When was Celo founded? | Celo was founded in 2018. |
| Where is Celo headquartered? | Celo is headquartered in United States. |
| Is Celo publicly listed? | No, Celo is a private, VC-backed company. |
| What is Celo's valuation? | Celo was last valued at $750M in its undisclosed-stage round in April 2019. |
| How much funding has Celo raised? | Celo has raised $67M across 4 funding rounds. |
| What was Celo's last funding round? | Celo's last funding round was a $20M undisclosed-stage round in February 2021. |
| Who are Celo's investors? | Celo's investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Greenfield, Linda Xie, General Catalyst, a16z crypto, Julia Popowitz, Jack Dorsey, Coinbase Ventures, Future Perfect Ventures, Naval Ravikant and 7 others. |
| Which companies are comparable to Celo? | Companies comparable to Celo include Zebec, Sinodata, Global Infotech, IRESS, Upvest and Sunyard Technology. |
| How many companies has Celo acquired? | Celo has acquired 1 company, including Summa. |
See companies similar to Celo
Start Your
Free Trial Today
Try Multiples for free for 3 days. Got questions or need a demo? Schedule a call with us below.




