Mexico's Clip hits unicorn status after SoftBank investment

FILE PHOTO: A device from Mexican payments startup Clip is seen in this picture illustration taken in Mexico City, Mexico October 11, 2019. REUTERS/Luis Cortes/Illustration

(Reuters) - Mexican payments startup Clip on Thursday said its valuation has jumped to nearly $2 billion after a recent investment led by SoftBank Latin America Fund and Viking Global Investors LP, putting it in a small but growing club of Mexican "unicorns."

The company was the first in Mexico to receive funding from SoftBank's Latin America fund in 2019. The latest investment round amounted to $250 million, Clip said.

The resources will help Clip "grow aggressively" in Mexico, Chief Executive Adolfo Babatz said in a statement.

Clip, founded in 2012, offers a mobile credit card reader that fits onto smartphones. Businesses across Mexico such as cafes, corner stores and street vendors have embraced Clip as a simple way to accept cards in a country heavily dependent on cash.

Late last year, another SoftBank-backed company, used-car platform Kavak, became Mexico's first known unicorn - lingo for tech startups valued at more than $1 billion. It was joined in that ranking last month by cryptocurrency trading platform Bitso.

(Editing by David Gregorio)

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