French ‘super app’ Lydia raises $100m becoming latest European fintech unicorn, plots 10 million users by 2025

Lydia, a French banking challenger app that claims 5 million users, has raised over $100m at a valuation of over $1 bn making it the latest fintech unicorn in France.

By 2025 Lydia is aiming to double its user base and be the main account for 10 million and hire nearly 800 people over the next few years, it said a media statement.

The company raised the new cash from existing investors Tencent and Accel and Founders Future, who all led the round. Two US investors, Dragoneer and Echo Street, are also joining the round and making their first investment in Lydia.

One in three 18-35 year olds in France use the app, Lydia says, following a shift in strategy over the past two years to establish itself as a 'super app'. Lydia now offers current accounts, joint accounts, credit, savings and now investment services through a deal with Bitpanda.

"These new resources will enable us to go further and faster in our mission to change the way banking is done, by making all financial services simpler, more accessible and also more instantaneous. The success of Lydia year after year and its adoption by more than a third of all French people aged between 18 and 35 confirms the alignment of our vision with current expectations in terms of banking services," said Cyril Chiche (pictured right), CEO and co-founder of Lydia.

"This mega fundraising is also a new symbol of the remarkable dynamism of the French tech ecosystem and a strong sign of its capacity to create a significant number of international champions in the years to come,” he added.