Airalo, the world’s largest eSIM marketplace, has secured US$220 million in a funding round led by private equity giant CVC, pushing the company’s valuation past the US$1 billion mark and officially making it the first unicorn in the eSIM sector.

The fresh capital injection — including US$185 million from CVC’s Asia Fund VI — comes amid surging global demand for affordable, borderless mobile connectivity. Existing investors Peak XV and Antler Elevate also participated in the round.

The milestone underscores Airalo’s rapid ascent since its launch, now boasting over 20 million users across more than 200 destinations.

“This funding is a major milestone, not just for Airalo, but for the future of global connectivity,” said Ahmet Bahadir Ozdemir, CEO and co-founder of Airalo. “We’re not just enabling better eSIM solutions for travel — we’re building the infrastructure for the next generation of international mobile connectivity.”

Redefining connectivity for global travellers

Airalo’s app-based platform allows users to purchase and activate local or regional eSIM data plans without relying on traditional roaming services. The result: travellers pay a fraction of the typical roaming fees.

With this latest funding, Airalo plans to significantly enhance its customer experience, introducing an upgraded in-app journey across web, iOS, and Android, as well as improved user support and product variety. This includes a new line-up of data bundles launching in July — from 1GB short-stay plans to 30-day unlimited data packages, plus dedicated data, voice, and text offerings in selected markets.

“The digital travel eSIM market, whilst already worth US$1 billion, is at the very early stages of becoming the main method by which consumers can receive the highest quality experience abroad, at a much lower price than they pay for roaming today,” said Siddharth Patel, Managing Partner at CVC. “Airalo, with a highly scalable digital model grown primarily through organic channels, is best positioned to deliver superior value and customer experience for global travellers.”

Beyond individual travellers, Airalo is setting its sights on enterprise use cases. The company said the funding will also fuel efforts to extend its eSIM solutions to businesses looking to equip employees or serve their own customers with reliable mobile data worldwide.