Series A: Zolve Secures $ 40 Million Funding Led by DST Global

Fintech start-up Zolve has raised $ 40 million (around Rs 300 crore) in its Series A funding round, led by DST Global and the participation of Tiger Global, Alkeon Capital, as well as existing investors Accel and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

The round, one of the largest Series A funding rounds in the Indian startup ecosystem, values ​​Zolve at $ 210 million, a company executive told ET.

In February, the startup had raised $ 15 million in its funding round for a valuation of $ 50 million.

The Delaware and Bengaluru-based startup, founded by former TaxiForSure co-founder Raghunandan G, specializes as a neo-banking platform for international migrants settling in the United States.

The company will deploy new capital to expand its team, as well as its product line, Raghunandan told ET in a video call.

The startup, which launched large-scale services last month, also plans to expand its entry into the European and Canadian immigration markets.

“Since our launch we have received incoming funding requests from many investors and even this round has been oversubscribed. We have chosen our investors very carefully because we want to learn from their experiences. DST and Tiger, for example, are on the capitalization tables of some of the biggest neobanks and fintech startups in the world such as Chime, Robinhood, Revolut, among others, ”he said.

Launched in September, Zolve allows immigrants traveling to the United States to access bank accounts with a credit card even before being assigned a social security number. This is done based on their credit score in their home country. The company also plans to soon expand its service to instant remittances, insurance and loans.

Zolve said it currently serves around 70,000 customers from Australia, Canada, Germany, India and the UK, among others.

“While we intended to start with a small cohort of 500 users, we were almost 90 times oversubscribed by professionals and students in the first few weeks. This incredible pull has gone way beyond what we envisioned and clearly demonstrates that there is a tangible need for a service that provides citizens of the world with equitable access to financial products, ”said Raghunandan.

The cycle comes just weeks after Chennai-based CredAvenue raised $ 90 million in India’s largest Series A cycle ever, ahead of Ola Electric Mobility ($ 58 million in 2019) and Mensa Brands (50 million as of May 2021), according to Venture Intelligence data.

Other Indian startups that have attracted major Series A include FamPay ($ 38 million in June 2021), Design Café ($ 29 million in December 2018) and Cred ($ 25 million in September 2018).

“Zolve is one of the few startups I’ve seen that have successfully adapted to the product market from the start. Given that the United States is a country with immigrants in its DNA, it is surprising how long it took for someone to resolve the problems that new immigrants face with the traditional banking system, ”said Anand Daniel, partner, Accel.

According to Bejul Somaia, a Lightspeed partner, access to financial services for immigrants traveling abroad is of great value. “The rapid acceleration of the business, particularly around customer acquisition and utilization, is a reflection of the team’s ability to execute and the significant unmet needs of Zolve’s target customers. “, did he declare.