Paddle secures $25M as expansion accelerates on AI and Apple tailwind

Paddle, a merchant of record platform based in London, has raised $25 million in equity investment from CIBC Innovation Banking, announced on 17 July 2025. The funding forms part of a wider $318.3 million debt financing package and points to an acceleration of the company's expansion into new markets and products.

The 13-year-old company handles global payments, tax compliance, fraud prevention and refunds for companies building software and apps. Its customer base of more than 6,000 includes SaaS firms, app makers and AI companies across 300 markets. It operates from offices in London, Lisbon, Toronto, New York and has recently opened a new base in Austin. The funding announcement coincided with the arrival of three senior executives recruited from larger software companies: Rich Mason from Shopify as Chief Revenue Officer for international markets, Stephen Wilcock as Chief Technology Officer from a series of European scaling tech companies, and Ben Aronsten from Intercom as Chief Marketing Officer.

The timing reflects what Paddle says are two convergent market forces. Apple has changed its policies in the United States and European Union to allow app developers to use web payments rather than routing all transactions through its app store, opening a new sales channel for digital product makers. At the same time, the wave of new AI products has created fresh demand among developers who need rapid, global payment infrastructure. Paddle reported 40 percent year-on-year growth through mid-2025 as these trends took hold.

"We only win when those we serve win, and the growth we're seeing across the market reflects that shared success," CEO Jimmy Fitzgerald said, referencing the rise in consumer app businesses choosing Paddle for web monetisation. Fitzgerald, who spent nearly a decade at ServiceNow before joining Paddle in 2023, will oversee the company's next phase with a 300-person team and a leadership group that brings decades of infrastructure and SalesOps experience from larger enterprises.

Paddle has now raised roughly $320 million in equity from investors including FTV Capital, KKR, 83North and Notion Capital. The company moved beyond pure equity to this mixed debt-and-equity approach as it matures into the sort of infrastructure play that financial institutions typically back. The shift suggests investor confidence that Paddle has moved beyond startup risk into the predictable revenue patterns of a settled platform. The merchant of record market remains fragmented and dominated by older players, creating what both Paddle and its backers see as substantial room to grow.

The three new executives bring institutional expertise that the founding team had to build over years. Mason held senior roles at Shopify for more than a decade, managing enterprise relationships across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Wilcock has held CTO posts at multiple growth-stage European tech companies. Aronsten led Intercom's global marketing function and held regional marketing positions at Shopify. Their arrival suggests that Paddle plans to operate in the style of a larger, more professionalized software company even as the fintech payments market continues to shift.

For European founders and operators, the milestone shows how London-based infrastructure plays can attract substantial capital to scale globally. Paddle's decision to anchor its international leadership in a continent not known for its vast fintech markets reflects both a growing talent base and the company's bet that European developers will drive a meaningful share of digital product growth. The company's commitment to maintaining offices in Lisbon and London even as it expands to North America mirrors similar strategies seen in other European fintech firms seeking to serve a global customer base.