Airalo, a Delaware-based eSIM platform co-founded by Canadian entrepreneur Abraham Burak, has officially joined the unicorn club after closing a $220 million USD Series C funding round, pushing its valuation past $1 billion USD.
The round was led by CVC Capital Partners, which invested $185 million via its Asia Fund VI. Existing backers Peak XV (formerly Sequoia Capital India) and Antler Elevate also participated.
Bringing eSIMs to the Masses
Founded in 2019 by Burak and CEO Ahmet Bahadir Ozdemir, Airalo was created to simplify global connectivity through eSIMs—embedded SIM cards that don’t require physical swapping and can be activated digitally. The company’s mobile app lets users buy talk, text, and data plans at significantly cheaper rates than standard roaming services.
For example, Airalo offers a two-week UK plan with 2GB of data for just $12 CAD, compared to $16 per day from traditional Canadian providers like Bell.
Currently serving over 20 million users across 200+ countries, Airalo has emerged as a market leader in the growing digital eSIM travel sector.
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What’s Next for Airalo?
The fresh capital will power an expansion of Airalo’s enterprise offering, which helps businesses manage global connectivity for remote teams by assigning eSIMs and controlling budgets. The company also plans to launch a revamped app experience and introduce unlimited data plans this summer.
“This funding will significantly enhance our customer support and allow us to broaden our product range,” said the company in a statement.
Why It Matters
CVC Managing Partner Siddharth Patel praised Airalo’s growth, calling it the “clear category leader in travel eSIMs” and emphasizing its “highly scalable digital model grown primarily through organic channels.”
Patel added that the travel eSIM market is still in its early days but has the potential to become the main method of international mobile access for consumers.
A Canadian Success Story
Burak, who dropped out of law school at the University of Ottawa to launch Airalo, now resides in Toronto. His journey spans legal studies in China, Switzerland, and The Netherlands, before choosing entrepreneurship over academia.
Airalo’s rapid ascent has garnered attention in both the tech and telecom worlds. The company raised a $60M Series B in August 2023, with participation from Bell Ventures, the venture arm of Canada’s largest telecom provider.
Global but Rooted in Remote
With a fully remote team spread across 55 countries, Airalo exemplifies a new breed of globally distributed tech startups. Despite being headquartered in the U.S., it maintains strong Canadian ties through Burak and its network of investors.
eSIM Adoption Growing Fast
eSIMs are becoming a strategic play for fintech and neobank players. Firms like Nubank, Revolut, Koho, and Wealthsimple have all launched eSIM products, integrating connectivity into their service ecosystems.
As eSIM tech gains traction, Airalo’s unicorn status not only validates its market approach but also positions it for greater influence in shaping how the next billion users connect abroad.
