Tencent and DST Global led a $115m Series C round for Qonto, a French neobank for freelancers and SMEs. Existing investors New York-based venture capital fund Valar Ventures, and early-stage investment firm Alven, also poured money into the round. Other investors include TransferWise co-founder Taavet Hinrikus, and Ingo Uytdehaage, CFO of global payment service Adyen. The Series C funding will allow Qonto to strengthen its presence in France while accelerating growth in the three new markets launched in 2019: Italy, Spain and Germany. The capital will help the startup grow business, attract new SMEs, and improve offerings including making more adaptations to local customer needs. It will also be used to grow the Qonto team from ​200 to 300 ​within a year.