Singapore – Airwallex will become an Official AI Finance Partner of the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team from January 2027, extending a technology partnership that began in 2024.
The multi-year agreement, announced in Singapore on 21 October 2026, is intended to build faster, more efficient technology on and off the track.
Airwallex will also keep supplying the technology behind McLaren’s digital partner merchandise platform. That system lets the team collect payments from customers using a range of global and local payment methods.
McLaren Racing’s finance chief framed the deal as part of a wider investment in technology. Laura Bowden, Chief Financial Officer of McLaren Racing, said, “Partnering closely with Airwallex demonstrates our long-term commitment to investing in faster, more efficient technology. Airwallex is our first Official AI Finance Partner and we’re confident in their ability to help us run our financial operations faster and more efficiently.”
Airwallex linked the extension to its broader product strategy. Pranav Sood, Chief Financial Officer of Airwallex, added, “Formula 1 is built on the pursuit of marginal gains, and that mindset has shaped our partnership with McLaren Racing. Over the past three seasons, we’ve shown how smarter financial infrastructure and AI-native technology can help global organisations move faster and operate with greater control across borders.”
“As we become an Official AI Finance Partner of the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team from 2027, we’re proud to support their business growth and deepen our relationship. This closely aligns with our broader strategy to help businesses move faster and more profitably than their competitors, and as we enter the Agentic Banking era, we’re focused on deploying intelligent AI capabilities across our unified stack with Agentic Business Accounts at the center,” Sood continued.
The announcement follows Airwallex’s US$320 million Series H funding round in June, which valued the company at US$11 billion. According to Airwallex, the capital is earmarked for its next generation of AI-native financial software.
That software includes T:0, which the company describes as an AI-native platform designed to run a business’s finance function end to end. It also includes Airi, an agentic consumer wallet that Airwallex says is being developed to support delegated payments, spending controls and multi-currency balances.
On the commercial side, the extension widens Airwallex’s presence on the team’s equipment. Its branding will appear on the sleeve of the team kit, and it will remain on both cars in the Halo Rear Left position and on the drivers’ overalls.
The partnership’s first three seasons coincided with a successful run for the team. Airwallex says it supported McLaren’s global financial operations as the team secured its 10th Constructors’ World Championship and as Lando Norris won the Drivers’ Championship in 2025.
