Led by brother and sister co-founders Suneera Madhani, CEO, and Sal Rehmetullah, president, this announcement makes Stax Orlando’s first-ever homegrown unicorn.
Orlando, Fla. – Stax, an all-in-one payments platform, has raised a $245 million funding round led by Greater Sum Ventures (GSV), HarbourVest and Blue Star Innovation Partners (Blue Star), resulting in a valuation of more than $1 billion. Led by brother and sister co-founders Suneera Madhani, CEO, and Sal Rehmetullah, president, this announcement makes Stax Orlando’s first-ever homegrown, female-founded unicorn.
“Less than three percent of venture capital goes to women, and less than one percent to people of color.”
Suneera Madhani, CEO of Stax
“By announcing our unicorn status on International Women’s Day, I’m sharing this historic milestone not just with my team, but every woman of color who is trying to find her way in the boys’ club,” said Madhani. “I want to inspire them to build their own business on their own terms and make their own history – no matter how many cards are stacked against them.”
Stax employs 300 workers in Orlando who helped process $23 billion payments. One of the fastest growing fintech companies in America, Madhani credits Orlando’s strong talent, with more than 550,000 college students within a 100-mile radius and the low cost of living as major factors in recruiting the best team.
“At Stax, we help businesses grow and scale, all while having the flexibility to adapt their payment technologies to meet their customer needs,” said Rehmetullah. “With our new capital and unicorn status, we can ensure our customers have all the tools they need to process and manage their payments.”
“Businesses are just starting to realize how powerful payments can be in scaling their organization, and we’re here to ensure that process goes as smoothly as possible.”
Sal Rehmetullah, President of Stax
The investments are led by GSV, HarbourVest and Blue Star, all of which have long invested in the payments industry and will serve as strategic partners to Stax moving forward. The payments platform will use the new capital to expand product capabilities, enhance its customer offerings, grow its team and expand internationally.
“This is the perfect example of a company that has disrupted an industry and changed the way companies conduct business.”
TIm Giuliani, President and CEO of the Orlando Economic Partnership
“And Stax has proven that innovation can be born and bred in Orlando where companies can find the best talent to scale their tech and innovations and an ecosystem build to support their growth,” said TIm Giuliani, president and CEO of the Orlando Economic Partnership.
This announcement comes on the heels of a significant year of growth for Stax, having just acquired automated surcharging platform CardX this past November. To learn more, please visit www.staxpayments.com.
