Aspire was founded by Andrea Baronchelli, Giovanni Casinelli, Giacomo Ficari, Joel Leong, SG Andrea Baronchelli, Stefano Pellegrino in 2018.

Who are Aspire's investors?

Aspire's investors include Beacon VC, Crane Venture Partners, Hummingbird Ventures, Insignia Ventures Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, PICUS CAPITAL, Pioneer, Supermomos Pte. Ltd. and 25 more.

How much funding has Aspire raised?

Aspire has disclosed $158M raised across 1 of its 4 known rounds.

Where is Aspire headquartered?

Aspire is headquartered in Singapore, SG.

Aspire

YC W18

Singapore, SG · Founded 2018 · 500 employees · Hiring · 39 known investors

Find your way into Aspire

Each arrow is one introduction. Sign up to fill in the first one.

11,609 people can intro you to Andrea

Ask Darius Cheung to introduce you to Andrea Baronchelli

You →Darius · together at Endeavor Indonesia 2023 →Andrea

11,187 people can intro you to Giacomo

Ask Jamie Chen to introduce you to Giacomo Ficari

You →Jamie · together at Lifepal →Giacomo

10,780 people can intro you to Stefano

Ask Sam Okafor to introduce you to Stefano Pellegrino

You →Sam · together at Mind The Gap →Stefano

Giovanni Casinelli10,555 people can intro you
Joel Leong10,479 people can intro you

Your email: who you already know at Aspire, and who your contacts know
2nd- and 3rd-degree connections: people you know who worked, studied or invested with the Aspire team
Your LinkedIn: the connections who can make the intro for you

We rank every route by how warm it is, so you raise on warm intros instead of cold emails.

Aspire provides corporate account and card solutions for businesses with complex operations, offering relationship management and an online platform for employee spending oversight.

Enterprise Software Fintech SaaS Payments B2B NeobankSingaporeSoutheast AsiaPartly Remote

Founders & leadership· Y Combinator alumni (W18)

Andrea Baronchelli Co-Founder & CEOPreviously, he held multiple roles at Lazada—including head of growth, operations, and product across several markets—before the company's acquisition by Alibaba Group.

Giovanni Casinelli Co-Founder & PresidentGiovanni Casinelli is co-founder and president of Aspire, a finance software platform for businesses.

Giacomo Ficari Co-Founder & co-CEO2017–2018Lazada/Rocket Internet and Groupon veteran listed by Crunchbase and Preqin as a founder; later left after a personal exit and joined other ventures.

Joel Leong Chief Strategy Officer & Co-FounderSingapore-born co-founder; earlier CMO and country head for Singapore, now CSO.

SG Andrea BaronchelliFounder/CEO

Stefano Pellegrino Co-founder and Country Head (Vietnam) at Aspire2019–2023Founding-team country head for Vietnam; left in 2023 to found climate-tech company Aquila.

Investors · 39

Beacon VClisted by Beacon VCBangkok · $500K – $3M

How we know: open dataset · 5k.vc investor directory · Not right? Tell us

Crane Venture Partnerslisted by Crane Venture PartnersLondon · $750K – $3M

How we know: Crane Venture Partners's portfolio page · the VCSheet dataset · Not right? Tell us

Hummingbird Ventureslisted by Hummingbird VenturesSint-Joost-Ten-Node, Brussels · $500K – $10M

How we know: Hummingbird Ventures's portfolio page · fintechnews.sg · the VCSheet dataset · open dataset · 5k.vc investor directory · Not right? Tell us

Insignia Ventures Partnerslisted by Insignia Ventures PartnersSingapore · $100K – $5M

How we know: Insignia Ventures Partners's portfolio page · open dataset · 5k.vc investor directory · Not right? Tell us

Lightspeed Venture Partnerslisted by Lightspeed Venture PartnersMenlo Park · $1M – $5M

How we know: Lightspeed Venture Partners's portfolio page · techcrunch.com · Not right? Tell us

PICUS CAPITALlisted by PICUS CAPITALMunich · $100K – $5M

How we know: PICUS CAPITAL's portfolio page · fintechnews.sg · the VCSheet dataset · Not right? Tell us

Pioneerlisted by PioneerToronto, Ontario

How we know: Pioneer's portfolio page · Y Combinator's founder network · pioneerfund.vc · Not right? Tell us

Supermomos Pte. Ltd.listed by Supermomos Pte. Ltd.New York

VentureSouqlisted by VentureSouqAbu Dhabi · $100K – $10M

How we know: VentureSouq's portfolio page · the VCSheet dataset · Not right? Tell us

Y Combinatorlisted by Y CombinatorSan Francisco · $500K

How we know: the Y Combinator directory · Not right? Tell us

AFG Partnersreported

How we know: the VCSheet dataset · Not right? Tell us

ATM CapitalreportedJakarta

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

BacereportedGeorge Town

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Battery VenturesreportedBoston · $500K – $100M

How we know: techcrunch.com · Not right? Tell us

Bessemer Venture PartnersreportedSan Francisco · $50K – $100M

How we know: techcrunch.com · Not right? Tell us

Capital-AreportedLondon

How we know: open dataset · 5k.vc investor directory · Not right? Tell us

Dragoneer Investment GroupreportedSan Francisco · $100K – $5M

How we know: techcrunch.com · Not right? Tell us

Eximius VenturesreportedDelhi · $500K – $1M

How we know: open dataset · 5k.vc investor directory · Not right? Tell us

Fasanara CapitalreportedLondon

How we know: fintechnews.sg · Not right? Tell us

HedosophiareportedLondon

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

ICONIQ CapitalreportedSan Francisco · $5M – $100M

How we know: techcrunch.com · Not right? Tell us

Index VenturesreportedSan Francisco · $540K – $10.8M

How we know: techcrunch.com · Not right? Tell us

Ithaca InvestmentsreportedMilan

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

MAGIC FundreportedLos Angeles · $50K – $5M

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Mainsail PartnersreportedAustin · $10M – $75M

How we know: techcrunch.com · Not right? Tell us

MassMutual VenturesreportedSpringfield · $500K – $5M

How we know: techcrunch.com · Not right? Tell us

PayPal VenturesreportedSan Jose · $1M – $10M

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Prasetia DwidharmareportedJakarta Pusat

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Sequoia CapitalreportedMenlo Park · $100K – $50M

How we know: techcrunch.com · Not right? Tell us

T. Rowe PricereportedBaltimore

How we know: techcrunch.com · Not right? Tell us

Tencent HoldingsreportedShenzhen

How we know: Y Combinator's founder network · Not right? Tell us

Thoma BravoreportedChicago

How we know: techcrunch.com · Not right? Tell us

Tiger Global ManagementreportedNew York · $1M – $100M

How we know: techcrunch.com · Not right? Tell us

Also in the syndicate · 6

AFGB Capital PartnersCE Innovation FundDST Global PartnersMass Mutual VenturesSequoia SEA

Funding

SEC filings, press & company announcements

$158M disclosed across 1 of 4 rounds · 2021–2023

Undisclosed amountseries CFeb 2023
Source ↗
$158MSeries BSep 2021 · 2 sources
AFG, B Capital Partners, CE Innovation Fund, DST Global Partners, Fasanara Capital, Hummingbird Ventures, Mass Mutual Ventures, MassMutual Ventures, Picus Capital
Source ↗
Undisclosed amountSeries GJun 2021
Thoma Bravo (lead), Battery Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Dragoneer, ICONIQ Capital, Index Ventures, Mainsail Partners, Sequoia, T. Rowe Price, Tiger Global
Source ↗

Source: company announcements and press reports — follow each round's link for the claim.

Founder mafia

The Aspire mafia →

6 people who came through Aspire went on to found or lead other companies.

Andrea BaronchelliFounder/CEOFounded Lazada Giovanni CasinelliFounderFounded Asteroid Rachiket AryaPrincipal Product Engineer, AIFounded Jackett Giacomo FicariCo-Founder (former Co-CEO)Founded Lifepal Stefano PellegrinoCo-Founder (former Vietnam country head)Founded Aquila Rohit MulaniGrowthFounded Gotrade

Related companies · 10

WiseWise is a financial platform offering international money transfers, multi-currency accounts, and debit cards with low fees and competitive exchange rates, serving millions of users globally.

CarddaCardda provides corporate spend management through virtual and physical cards, automated payments, and real-time expense visibility for businesses across industries. The platform centralizes expense control, invoice management, and financial operations for teams of any size.

Kapital BankKapital is a financial services platform offering digital banking, payment processing, and investment products in Mexico. The platform enables users to manage accounts, transfer funds, pay bills, and invest in financial instruments like Pagaré and CEDES through a mobile app.

RampRamp offers a finance platform that combines corporate cards, expense management, and AI-driven automation for receipt capture, transaction coding, and reimbursements. It serves finance teams and businesses looking to consolidate spending tools and automate accounting workflows.

ArpariArpari provides a unified treasury management platform that consolidates cash and account management across multiple banks for finance teams. The software reduces administrative overhead by offering a single dashboard for liquidity tracking and financial processes.

CorporatefinanceinstituteCorporate Finance Institute offers an online specialization program teaching finance professionals how to integrate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into financial analysis, valuation, and investment decision-making. The program covers ESG frameworks, sustainability integration, greenhouse gas accounting, and climate risk management across eight core courses.

Spring in AfricaA payment platform that enables custom payment links for bank transfers and cryptocurrency transactions, allowing users to send funds to wallets and purchase airtime. The service targets individuals and businesses in Africa seeking flexible payment options with real-time transaction tracking on blockchain.

Bill.com Holdings, Inc.BILL is a unified financial operations platform that automates accounts payable, receivables, and spend management for businesses. The platform processes over $345 billion in annual payment volume and serves nearly 500,000 customers across the US and 130+ countries.

BoyaBoya is a financial technology platform that organizes business financial data to help growing businesses access better spending decisions, growth capital, and lower credit costs. The platform serves businesses of all sizes across various industries.

RemitlyRemitly is an international money transfer service that enables customers to send money across borders to multiple countries.

Companies working in the same space as Aspire.

In the news

Singapore-based neobank Aspire raises $100M from Lightspeed and Sequoia SEA | TechCrunchtechcrunch.com · Feb 2023

Aspire raises $158M Series B to build a full-stack “financial operating system” for Southeast Asian businesses | TechCrunchtechcrunch.com · Sep 2021

Frequently asked questions

What does Aspire do?: Aspire provides corporate account and card solutions for businesses with complex operations, offering relationship management and an online platform for employee spending oversight.
Who founded Aspire?: Aspire was founded by Andrea Baronchelli, Giovanni Casinelli, Giacomo Ficari, Joel Leong, SG Andrea Baronchelli, Stefano Pellegrino in 2018.
Who are Aspire's investors?: Aspire's investors include Beacon VC, Crane Venture Partners, Hummingbird Ventures, Insignia Ventures Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, PICUS CAPITAL, Pioneer, Supermomos Pte. Ltd. and 25 more.
How much funding has Aspire raised?: Aspire has disclosed $158M raised across 1 of its 4 known rounds.
Where is Aspire headquartered?: Aspire is headquartered in Singapore, SG.