BackWhy is Google investing millions in this Bengaluru-based digital bank startup?
Open has raised $100 million in Series C round of funding led by Temasek, that also saw participation from Google
PremiumNeo-banking platform Open has raised $100 million in Series C round of funding led by Temasek. The company has also onboarded marquee investors including Google, Japan’s SBI Investment.
The funding round has also seen participation from existing investors Tiger Global Management and 3one4 Capital.
According to reports, Bengaluru-based Open is valued at $500 million. The company has recently raised ₹453 crore in Series C round of funding from Temasek, Google, and existing investors.
In four years, we have become the world's fastest growing neo-banking platform helping nearly 2 million SMEs," said co-founder and CEO Anish Achuthan.
In the coming months, Open is looking to expand into embedded finance and enterprise banking. The startup is targeting to provide services to atleast 5 million SMEs by August 2022.
Founded in 2017 by Aneesh Achuthan, Ajeesh Achuthan, Mable CHako and Deena Jacob, the Bengaluru-based startup offers neo-banking services to small and medium-sized companies. In February 2020, Open has processed around $11 billion-plus transactions and it claims to be the largest neo-banking platform in India.
In Feb 2019, Open has raised $5 million in Series A from 3one4 Capital, Beenext and Speedinvest. In the same year of June, Open had raised around $30 million in its Series B round that was led by Tiger Global.
Neo-banks have been around in India since 2013, soon after RBL and YES banks made their APIs public to other developers for building cutting-edge financial services. They don't have any physical branches.
In 2021, neo-banking platforms have raised close to $173.5 million. These platforms exist in partnership with traditional banks and attract a wider range of audiences as they are built keeping the fast-changing aspects of running a business in mind.
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