Exclusive: Latitude, founded by Stripe and Uber alums, raises $35 million to turn stablecoins into local payments

Latitude, a stablecoin-focused payments infrastructure company co-founded by former Stripe, Uber, Coinbase and Meta employees, has raised $35 million in its Series A funding round. The investors include Oak HC/FT, NEA, Coinbase, Lightspeed Faction, and OpenFX. The startup, headquartered in Texas, aims to help businesses convert stablecoins into local currencies for easy spending using familiar methods such as bank accounts and mobile wallets.

Founded by Cyril Mathew, Brian Wrightson, and Vivek Morzaria, the team boasts extensive experience in the industry with prior roles at major companies like Stripe, Uber, Coinbase, and Meta. The company's CEO, Mathew, did not disclose the company's valuation during an interview with Fortune. However, he highlighted the need for neobanks and businesses to offer stablecoin-to-local currency conversion services, especially in emerging markets where users often struggle to convert stablecoins into local currencies.

Mathew's interest in cross-border payments began during his time in Europe, leading international payments at Uber. He recalls an incident where an Uber driver in London struggled to remit his wages to Morocco, highlighting the cumbersome process of sending cash via middlemen and the limited adoption of stablecoin payouts. This led him to realize that stablecoins would only be useful if recipients could easily convert them into local currency in bank accounts or digital wallets.

In late 2024, while taking a short break from the industry, Mathew approached Wrightson and Morzaria with the idea of Latitude. The three co-founders began raising the seed round in January 2025. Currently, Latitude has a 15-person team spread across New York, San Francisco, and London, with plans to expand into Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa. The company aims to obtain regulatory licenses in these regions to serve businesses that need to move money across borders.