Drake-Backed Toronto Brokerage Wealthsimple Hits $4 Billion Valuation
Written by SOURCE on May 5, 2021
Toronto-based online brokerage Wealthsimple, which can count Drake among its celebrity investors, has raised $610 million in fundraising with a $4 billion evaluation.
Business Insider reports that the Power Corporation of Canada company’s latest round of funding was led by Meritech Capital Partners and Greylock Partners. The funding and valuation were announced on Monday. Wealthsimple plans to use the funding to expand its position in the ever-growing market of online brokerages, especially as an increasing number of Canadians take interest in stock trading amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Drake isn’t the only celebrity with stake in Wealthsimple, as other Canadians including Ryan Reynolds, Michael J. Fox, and Kelly Olynyk have invested. The company is currently experiencing a surge in valuations as online trading increases, with over 2 million users already. A rival to the likes of Robinhood Markets Inc. (which found itself under scrutiny during the “GameStonk” saga earlier this year), Wealthsimple offers cryptocurrency trading, tax services, automated investing, and comission-free stock trading.
“More than two million Canadians use Wealthsimple to grow their money, file their taxes, pay their friends, and make their financial lives better,” said CEO Mike Katchen. “This investment will fuel our growth so we can reach millions more and ensure that everyone has access to the simplest, most powerful financial products and services, no matter who they are or where they are in their financial lives.”
Drake has continued to make huge business moves outside the world of music, and just last month partnered with Chrome Hearts to extravagantly outfit a Rolls-Royce Cullinan and create an exclusive collection of merch to go with it.
