On 20 May 2026, Primer, a UK payments infrastructure startup, raised US$100 million in a Series C funding round led by Sofina. Peak XV Partners and existing investors Balderton, Accel, ICONIQ, Tencent, and Speedinvest also participated in the round. The company will use the funds to add more AI tools for payments and finance teams, expand in the US with plans to hire up to 50 people, and grow its revenue share from about one-fifth to more than one-third by 2028. Primer, founded in 2020, helps merchants manage payments across multiple providers and counts GetYourGuide, Dialpad, and Printful as customers. The new round brings its total funding to US$170 million.
Funding Details and Investor Participation
Sofina led the Series C round, with support from Peak XV Partners and five existing investors. The round represents a significant capital injection for the London-based payments infrastructure company, bringing cumulative funding to US$170 million since its founding.
Company Background and Customer Base
Primer was founded in 2020 and specializes in helping merchants manage payments across multiple providers. The company's customer base includes GetYourGuide, Dialpad, and Printful. Primer was last valued at US$425 million following a US$50 million Series B round in October 2021. The company was started by former PayPal staff and set out to consolidate payment data from different providers.
Planned Use of Funds
Primer will use the capital to:
- Add more AI tools for payments and finance teams
- Expand operations in the US market
- Hire up to 50 people in the US
- Grow revenue share from approximately one-fifth to more than one-third by 2028
AI Product Development
Primer is expanding its AI agent, Primer Companion, to run experiments, improve results, and act within limits set by merchants. The company's payments infrastructure helps merchants handle integrations across providers including Checkout.com, Stripe, and Worldpay.
Primer also targets smaller businesses through "Primer for Growth," a program that provides eligible startups with one year of free access to Monitors and Observability tools. These tools track payment performance and identify problems in payment systems.
