Airalo

What kind of company is Airalo?

Airalo is a private telecommunications marketplace company that sells eSIM data packages to international travelers. It does not operate mobile networks itself; it buys wholesale connectivity from carriers and resells it through its app as instant downloadable plans.

Is Airalo publicly traded?

No. Airalo is privately held. It has raised about $287 million from investors including CVC, Peak XV, e& capital, and multiple telecom operator venture arms, but there is no public stock.

When was Airalo founded?

Airalo was founded in 2019 by Ahmet Bahadir Ozdemir, Abraham Burak, and Duran Akcaylier. It was originally called Roaming Labs before rebranding. Akcaylier left in 2020.

Where is Airalo headquartered?

Airalo's legal headquarters is in Lewes, Delaware, United States. Its operational headquarters is in Singapore through the entity AirGSM Pte. Ltd., and its roughly 400-person team works remotely across more than 50 countries.

Who owns Airalo?

Airalo is owned by its founders and venture investors. The largest institutional shareholder is CVC, which led the $220 million Series C in July 2025. Other backers include Peak XV, e& capital, Antler, and the venture arms of Singtel, Orange, Telefonica, KPN, Deutsche Telekom, and Liberty Global.

What is Airalo's market position?

Airalo is the largest dedicated travel eSIM provider globally, with more than 20 million users and coverage in over 200 countries. It became the industry's first unicorn in July 2025 and competes primarily with Saily, Holafly, and Nomad.

Airalo was founded in 2019 by Ahmet Bahadir Ozdemir, Abraham Burak, and Duran Akcaylier, initially under the name Roaming Labs. The founding premise was that eSIM hardware becoming standard in smartphones created an opening to replace physical travel SIM cards and punitive roaming charges with an instant digital purchase.

The company raised a $1.9 million seed round in October 2019 from Antler and Sequoia Capital's early-stage programs. Akcaylier departed in 2020, leaving Ozdemir and Burak as the active founders through the pandemic-era travel shutdown.

Recovery came fast once borders reopened. A $5 million Series A closed in October 2021, and by mid-2023 Airalo had 5.1 million customers. That July it raised a $60 million Series B led by e& capital, the venture arm of the UAE's e& telecom group. The round was notable for its syndicate: Liberty Global, Rakuten Capital, Singtel Innov8, Orange, T Capital (Deutsche Telekom), KPN Ventures, Telefonica Ventures, and I2BF Global Ventures joined alongside Antler Elevate, effectively giving Airalo a cap table of the carriers whose networks it resells.

Through 2024 the company expanded its plan range, added unlimited data options, and built out its B2B partners channel. In July 2025 it announced a $220 million Series C led by CVC through the firm's Asia Fund VI, with CVC contributing $185 million and existing investors Peak XV and Antler Elevate participating. The valuation above $1 billion made Airalo the first unicorn in the eSIM industry, with more than 20 million users at announcement.

Since the round, the company has invested in customer support capacity, a redesigned app experience, expanded unlimited plans, and enterprise connectivity products. As of October 2026 it remains private and independent, with an eventual IPO widely discussed but not formally announced.