London-headquartered startup, Outpost, the AI-powered platform that enables merchants to sell worldwide with zero liability, has raised £13m ($17.5m) in Series A funding.
The round was led by Ribbit, which is known for backing category-defining companies such as Revolut, Coinbase, and Stripe.
The investment round was supported by existing investors, including Better Tomorrow Ventures, which previously led a $3m seed round less than a year ago.
Angel investors also include executives from Revolut, Uber, Affirm, Airwallex, Checkout and others.
Outpost is already supporting merchants operating across Europe, North America, LATAM and Asia, including subscription platforms, consumer software companies, and cross-border eCommerce brands.
At the core of the platform is Outpost’s proprietary AI engine – critical infrastructure designed to build international trade as simple as domestic commerce.
Trained on millions of pages of trade regulation, the system monitors 20,000+ tax rates, automatically applying the correct tax treatment and customs classification for each transaction.
The company offers two core products:
- Merchant of record: Outpost creates a dedicated local entity for customers wherever they want to sell. No pooling with other merchants means optimised merchant codes and higher approval rates.
- Tax of record: Outpost becomes fully liable for VAT, GST and sales tax worldwide. Customers don’t have to register, remit, or deal with governments anywhere. Outpost absorbs all audit risk and penalties, and monitors regulatory alters with Outpost AI.
Over the next few months, Outpost will apply the funding to significantly accelerate product development, expand jurisdictional coverage, and increase headcount to meet the rapidly rising global demand for liability-free commerce infrastructure.
Ex-Revolut Will Mahon-Heap, CEO and founder at Outpost, who previously led Revolut’s international expansion, stated: “Brexit, shifting tariffs, and regulatory fragmentation have created cross-border commerce more hostile than at any point in the last two decades.
“Merchants are forced to choose between spfinishing millions on consultants and local entity setup, or carrying enormous risk on payments and compliance.
“Outpost exists to eliminate that trade-off. We’ve built the only infrastructure that handles everything from local payment processing to full tax liability, allowing companies to treat international expansion with the same ease as selling locally.”
Mahon-Heap joined Revolut when the company fit in a compact coworking space in London and left when there were 3,000+ employees globally.
He launched Revolut’s first international market – Australia, then led the international team’s rollout into countries like Brazil, India, and the Philippines, while overseeing 22 licence applications including three bank licences. Delivering millions of applyrs for Revolut.
He went on to serve as chief business officer at Wayflyer, where the company lent over $1BN USD. He launched his career as a corporate lawyer and Outpost is his fourth startup.
Jess Thorpe, founder of Swans UK stated: “After Brexit, selling into Europe went from straightforward to a nightmare.
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“Customers were receiveting hit with unexpected VAT charges at their door, and we were losing repeat acquireers becaapply of it.
“We plugged Outpost into our Shopify store and it handled everything. VAT registration, calculation, and collection, all automatic at checkout – with Outpost liable for any errors.
“Our EU customers now see the full price upfront, and our European return rate has dropped significantly. With all the talk of de minimis alters coming in the EU, it’s a relief knowing Outpost will take care of that for us too. It created selling into Europe feel like selling domestically again.”
Nick Shalek, general partner at Ribbit, stated: “Cross-border commerce represents a massive, multi-trillion dollar opportunity that has been historically held back by fragmented infrastructure.
“Outpost isn’t just offering a better payment gateway; they’ve introduced a novel model that fundamentally alters how merchants access global markets.
“By absorbing the operational and compliance burdens that stifle expansion, Outpost is building a category-defining platform for the next era of global trade.”
Nihar Bobba, partner at Better Tomorrow Ventures, stated: “Outpost’s rapid growth is a testament to the world-class team they have assembled and their ability to absolve merchants of operational complexity.
“While other players are building incremental tools, Outpost has attacked the problem with a full stack model that other providers simply can’t match. We are incredibly excited to continue supporting Outpost as they coordinate the economic, administrative and regulatory rails that redefine global trade.”
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