Tencent-backed Airwallex hits $500 million annualized sales, aims to get IPO-ready by 2026

Tencent-backed payments startup Airwallex has reached an annual revenue run rate of $500 million and will look to get ready for an initial public offering by 2026, CEO and co-founder Jack Zhang told CNBC in an exclusive interview.

"I think the next big milestone is the $1 billion," Zhang said, in response to a question on what's next for the Singapore-based firm after crossing the $500 million ARR milestone last month. "Hopefully we can achieve that in 2026, or 2027. That is the goal."

Run rate is a rough measure of how much revenue a company will make in a single year, based on monthly performance.

Zhang said that Airwallex has seen significant growth in its business in the last year, boosted by an expansion into developed markets such as the U.K., Europe, and North America.

In the Americas region, Airwallex grew its revenue by more than 300% year-over-year, according to figures shared with CNBC.

The U.K., Europe, and North America now account for more than 35% of Airwallex's overall transaction volumes, Zhang said.

When asked by CNBC about how he feels about the prospect of an IPO for his business, Zhang said: "For us, it's just about getting IPO-ready in the next two years so that we have the choice to go or not go."

"In 2025, we will prepare everything, and we can decide what to do after 2026," he added.

Airwallex crossed $100 billion in annual payment processing volumes this year, Zhang said, marking a 73% increase from last year. That came as the firm saw volumes growing across all its products, including payments, foreign exchange, payouts, and issuing.

"It took us nine years to cross the $100 billion mark," Zhang said. "Hopefully it takes less than a year to get to $200 billion."

Airwallex is currently lossmaking, though