France-based online banking platform Qonto has raised €486m ($552.12m) in a Series D funding round at a valuation of €4.4bn ($5bn).

New backers Tiger Global and TCV co-led the round, which had seen participation from Alkeon, Eurazeo, KKR, Insight Partners, Exor Seeds, Guillaume Pousaz, Gaingels and Ashley Flucas.

They were joined by Qonto’s existing investors Valar, Alven, DST Global and Tencent.

Founded in 2017, Qonto is aimed at small and medium businesses and freelancers. It currently has over 220,000 clients across four markets that are France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.

Tiger Global partner John Curtius said: “The company has seen a significant increase in clients across its European markets during the coronavirus pandemic. This also shows that customers’ needs are evolving during these unprecedented times.”

TCV general partner John Doran said: “We look forward to supporting them as they continue to bring best-in-class banking and finance solutions to millions of SMEs and freelancers across Europe.”

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Qonto will use the funding to expand its product portfolio through in-house development, partnerships, and acquisition.

The proceeds will also be used to expand Qonto’s operations in Germany, Italy and Spain and new markets.

Furthermore, Qonto plans to increase its headcount by four times to over 2,000 and reach one million European SMEs and freelancers by 2025.

Qonto co-founder and CEO Alexandre Prot said: “We count on policymakers to continue their efforts to ensure entrepreneurship can succeed, leading to European and global champions that deliver innovation. This is only the beginning of our journey to best serve SMEs and freelancers and we couldn’t be more excited about what the future holds for us and our ambitions.”