Powa Technologies Valuation, Funding & Investors
Powa Technologies is not operational anymore. Its last reported valuation was $2.7B as of November 2014.
Last Powa Technologies valuation
$2.7B
Series C · Nov 2014
Last Powa Technologies funding round
$80M
Series C · Nov 2014
Cumulative funding Powa Technologies raised
$177M
across 3 funding rounds
Key investors in Powa Technologies
Wellington Management
About Powa Technologies
Powa Technologies was a London-based mobile commerce and payments technology company founded by the serial entrepreneur Dan Wagner. Its flagship product, PowaTag, let shoppers buy items by scanning codes or tags in print, online and broadcast advertisements, with payment details held in the cloud so that card and address entry was skipped. The company also sold point-of-sale hardware and software under the PowaPOS name and web hosting and commerce sites under PowaWeb, mainly to retailers and brands. It earned revenue from software licences, hardware sales and service fees. Powa was backed by Wellington Management, which supplied most of its funding, and expanded to offices in Europe, Asia and North America. It entered administration in 2016 and its businesses were sold in parts to separate buyers.
Founded
2007
HQ
LondonWebsite
Status
Closed
Customer focus
B2B
Revenue model
Product sales, Subscription
Valuation
$2.7B (Nov 2014)
Powa Technologies Valuation
Powa Technologies is insolvent and not operational anymore. Read the announcement ↗
Powa Technologies was last valued at $2.7B, based on its Series C in November 2014. Read the announcement ↗
The $80M round was led by Wellington Management.
Powa Technologies' valuation grew 5.4x from $500M at its Series A in August 2013 to $2.7B in November 2014, across 2 priced rounds.
Powa Technologies valuation by funding round
| Date | Stage | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 2016 | Write-down · Insolvency | $0 |
| Nov 2014 | Series C | $2.7B |
| Aug 2013 | Series A | $500M |
Powa Technologies Funding History
Before winding down, Powa Technologies has raised a total of $177M across 3 funding rounds.
Powa Technologies' first fundraising round was a $76M Series A in August 2013. The most recent completed round was a $80M Series C in November 2014.
Powa Technologies funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2014 | Series C | Wellington Management (lead) | $80M | $2.7B | Powa Technologies was a UK-based mobile payments and e-commerce platform founded by serial entrepreneur Dan Wagner. The company's core technology, PowaTag, allowed consumers to make purchases by scanning codes in advertisements or online, bypassing traditional card entry processes. The service stored customer payment details in the cloud rather than on devices, enabling faster checkout experiences for registered users. In November 2014, Wellington Management, a Boston-based investment manager overseeing over $900 billion globally, invested a further $80 million in Powa Technologies. This second major injection from Wellington came after the firm had already invested $76 million in 2013. The November 2014 round valued Powa at $2.7 billion (£1.8 billion), making it one of only a handful of UK-based tech unicorns worth over $1 billion. To that point, Powa had raised a total of $175 million. Despite its headline valuation, Powa's actual financial performance was modest. In 2014, the company had revenue of £1 million (approximately $1.5 million USD) and posted a loss of £38.5 million. For context, this valuation exceeded that of Klarna, a Swedish payments competitor that processed $9 billion in transactions that same year and was valued at $2.25 billion. The investment came with significant financial strings attached: Wellington's funding carried a 5% annual cumulative dividend requirement, and £11 million of the round was structured as long-term debt. Powa had signed approximately 970 merchants including Adidas and Unilever, with plans to add around 150 more per month. The company was expanding internationally, having signed a deal to enter China, and planned a US launch. CEO Dan Wagner had publicly stated intentions to pursue an IPO in 2016. However, the company faced intense competition from established players like Square and Shopify, as well as emerging consumer payment solutions from Apple Pay and Google Wallet. The business model of positioning itself as a sales-focused platform rather than a pure payments provider differentiated its strategy in a crowded market. |
| Feb 2014 | Series A | Wellington Management | $21M | - | Powa Technologies was a UK-based mobile payments and e-commerce startup founded by Dan Wagner in 2007, developing PowaTag, a platform enabling consumers to make purchases by scanning codes or using audio recognition from ads, stores, or online, aiming for frictionless mobile commerce globally. The company positioned itself as a leader in mPOS and m-commerce, partnering with retailers like Argos, JD Sports, and Laura Ashley, and charging lower fees than competitors. Around early 2014, Powa secured significant Series A funding totaling approximately $96.7M, including $76M at the end of 2013 and $20.7M in February 2014, both led by US investor Wellington Management, which held under 25% stake, marking it as one of the largest early-stage investments for a UK tech company. Wagner owned about 70% of the company. This followed prior rounds, with total funding reaching over $226M across six rounds by later years. In June 2014, Powa acquired Hong Kong rival MPayMe in an all-share deal valued at $75M, paying with 3% of its stock, which the company claimed implied a $2.7bn post-money valuation (or $2.6bn per some reports). This came after a prior funding round valuing Powa under $500M. Powa expanded to 14 offices worldwide, targeting markets beyond retail into utilities, food, and events, with ambitions for IPO. However, it later collapsed in 2016 via asset sale amid challenges matching hype to traction, despite unicorn status claims and UK government praise. Investors included Wellington Management. |
| Aug 2013 | Series A | Wellington Management (lead) | $76M | $500M | Powa Technologies was a UK-based mobile payments and e-commerce company founded by serial entrepreneur Dan Wagner that enabled customers to make purchases by scanning QR codes or photographic tags on advertisements in print, online, and on broadcast media. The company's technology, called PowaTag, allowed shoppers to bypass card and address entry by storing payment details securely in the cloud, with major retailers including Argos, JD Sports, and Laura Ashley adopting the platform by 2014. In August 2013, Powa closed its first institutional funding round, securing $76 million in Series A investment from Wellington Management, a Boston-based investment manager that typically focused on stocks and bonds. At that time, the company was valued at under $500 million post-money. The funding came with significant terms attached, including a 5% annual cumulative dividend obligation to Wellington and $11 million in long-term debt that required interest servicing. Following this round, Dan Wagner, who owned 70% of the company, announced plans for a potential IPO within 12 to 18 months, positioning Powa as the leader in mobile payments. The company subsequently acquired Hong Kong-based rival MPayMe in June 2014 through an all-stock deal that valued Powa at $2.7 billion, representing a dramatic increase in valuation within less than a year. However, despite raising $80 million in additional funding from Wellington in November 2014, Powa struggled with internal management conflicts, rising operational costs including £2.3 million in annual rent and £24 million in staff salaries, and declining revenue generation. The company ultimately collapsed and entered administration in 2016, with assets sold off and creditors, including Wellington, experiencing significant losses. |
Who has invested in Powa Technologies?
1 investor has backed Powa Technologies across its funding rounds, including Wellington Management.
Lead investors include Wellington Management.
Powa Technologies Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all 1 Powa Technologies 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 Powa Technologies
Powa Technologies has acquired 1 company to date.
Last acquisition by Powa Technologies was on June 12th 2014. Powa Technologies acquired MPayMe for $75M.
Latest Acquisitions by Powa Technologies
| Description | MPayMe is a Hong Kong-headquartered fintech firm that delivers ZNAP, a mobile platform integrating payments, invoicing, procurement, expense management, and loyalty programs for small and medium enterprises across Asia and beyond. Launched in 2010, the company maintains research and development facilities in Hong Kong alongside sales offices in New York, London, Tokyo, Singapore, and Bangkok to support international expansion into markets like Southeast Asia and the Middle East. |
| HQ Country |  |
| HQ City | Hong Kong |
| Deal Date | 12 Jun 2014 |
| Valuation | $75M |
| EV/Revenue | |
| EV/EBITDA | |
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Powa Technologies acquisitions and their M&A valuation multiples. Start Free Trial | |
Powa Technologies Competitors
Powa Technologies competitors included listed companies like Toast and Newland Digital Technology, and private ones like Fetch, MishiPay, StoreCash and iboxPro.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 United States | Publicly listed | $6.2B | $359M | $20B | 2.5x | |
 China | Publicly listed | $1.3B | $190M | $2.6B | 1.1x | |
| London | Private | - | - | $38M | - | |
| London | Private | - | - | $22M | - | |
| San Jose, CA | Private | $1M | - | $20M | 20.0x | |
| Hong Kong | Private | - | - | $16M | - |
Powa Technologies Public Comps
Powa Technologies is defunct now, but its public comps included AGS Transact, Mpay, Westpay, Seamless Distribution Systems, Cashlez Worldwide Indonesia, Rubean, Monni and RS2.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $156M | $21M | 0.0x | - | 0.1x | - | |||
| $5M | $87K | 1.1x | - | 63.0x | - | |||
| $8M | $1M | 1.5x | - | 7.6x | - | |||
| $17M | ($3M) | 0.8x | - | (5.3x) | - | |||
| - | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| $4M | ($2M) | 6.9x | - | (16.0x) | - | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Powa Technologies competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about Powa Technologies
| What happened to Powa Technologies? | Powa Technologies is not operational anymore and insolvent as of 19 February 2016. |
| When was Powa Technologies founded? | Powa Technologies was founded in 2007. |
| Where was Powa Technologies headquartered? | Powa Technologies was headquartered in London, United Kingdom. |
| Was Powa Technologies publicly listed? | No, Powa Technologies was a private, VC-backed company. |
| What was Powa Technologies' valuation? | Powa Technologies was last valued at $2.7B in its Series C in November 2014. |
| How much did Powa Technologies raise? | Powa Technologies raised $177M across 3 funding rounds. |
| What was Powa Technologies' last funding round? | Powa Technologies' last funding round was a $80M Series C in November 2014, led by Wellington Management. |
| Who were Powa Technologies' investors? | Powa Technologies' investors included Wellington Management. |
| Who were Powa Technologies' competitors? | Powa Technologies' competitors included Toast, Newland Digital Technology, Fetch, MishiPay, StoreCash and iboxPro. |
| How many companies did Powa Technologies acquire? | Powa Technologies acquired 1 company, including MPayMe. |
| What was the largest acquisition by Powa Technologies? | The $75M acquisition of MPayMe in June 2014 was the largest acquisition Powa Technologies made. |
See companies similar to Powa Technologies
Start Your
Free Trial Today
Try Multiples for free for 3 days. Got questions or need a demo? Schedule a call with us below.