ICICI Bank-backed startup AdvaRisk, which helps banks and financial institutions detect fraud and assess borrower risk, is in talks to raise $20-25 million, or about ₹190-237.5 crore, from investors including Fundamentum, according to two people aware of the matter.

The deal is still in the early stages and could change as the company is also in discussions with other investors, the people added. AdvaRisk and Fundamentum did not respond to Mint’s emails sent on Monday.

Fundamentum is a venture capital firm backed by Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, venture capitalist Sanjeev Aggarwal and Ashish Kumar. Its portfolio includes KukuFM, Wishlink, AppsForBharat and FlexiLoans.

The potential investment comes after Fundamentum launched its third fund, Fundamentum Frontier Advisors (F2A), in May. The ₹3,000-crore fund, headed by Fundamentum co-founder and general partner Ashish Kumar, will focus on growth-stage artificial intelligence, consumer technology and frontier technology startups in India.

A bigger fraud bill

The fundraise discussions come as banks contend with increasingly sophisticated fraud and a growing need to track and recover stressed assets.

On 29 May, Mint reported that bank fraud cases fell sharply to 10,114 in fiscal year 2026 (FY26), from 23,722 in FY25 and 35,800 in FY24. However, the amount involved rose to ₹48,021 crore in FY26, from ₹32,803 crore in FY25 and ₹11,013 crore in FY24, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s annual report released in May.

In a separate report on 20 May, Mint said India’s largest banks were strengthening cyber defences, hiring specialised talent and expanding insurance coverage amid concerns that increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence tools could enable faster and harder-to-contain cyberattacks.

Banks are also stepping up efforts to track and recover stressed assets. State Bank of India (SBI), for instance, has begun digitizing its stressed-asset tracking systems to improve recovery processes and oversight.

Founded in 2016, AdvaRisk helps banks and financial institutions identify financial fraud, assess borrower risk and improve recoveries from loan defaults. It builds a database of real estate and other assets linked to defaulters, allowing lenders to identify assets against which they may be able to recover dues. The company also automates the identification of red flags in lender accounts.

AdvaRisk claims to work with several major financial institutions, including ICICI Bank, SBI, IDBI Bank, Punjab National Bank and AU Small Finance Bank.

According to data platform Tracxn, AdvaRisk has so far raised $7.89 million across four equity rounds. The company was founded by Vishal Sharma and Rahul Metkar.

AdvaRisk’s revenue rose from ₹6.7 crore in FY23 to ₹11.8 crore in FY25, while its losses widened from ₹4 crore to ₹10.7 crore over the same period, according to Tracxn. The founders collectively hold about 44% of the company. Other shareholders include Sprout Venture Partners, ICICI Bank and Big Capital, according to Tracxn.

ICICI Bank-backed startup AdvaRisk, which helps banks and financial institutions detect fraud and assess borrower risk, is in talks to raise $20-25 million, or about ₹190-237.5 crore, from investors including Fundamentum, according to two people aware of the matter.

The deal is still in the early stages and could change as the company is also in discussions with other investors, the people added. AdvaRisk and Fundamentum did not respond to Mint’s emails sent on Monday.

Fundamentum is a venture capital firm backed by Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, venture capitalist Sanjeev Aggarwal and Ashish Kumar. Its portfolio includes KukuFM, Wishlink, AppsForBharat and FlexiLoans.

The potential investment comes after Fundamentum launched its third fund, Fundamentum Frontier Advisors (F2A), in May. The ₹3,000-crore fund, headed by Fundamentum co-founder and general partner Ashish Kumar, will focus on growth-stage artificial intelligence, consumer technology and frontier technology startups in India.

A bigger fraud bill

The fundraise discussions come as banks contend with increasingly sophisticated fraud and a growing need to track and recover stressed assets.

On 29 May, Mint reported that bank fraud cases fell sharply to 10,114 in fiscal year 2026 (FY26), from 23,722 in FY25 and 35,800 in FY24. However, the amount involved rose to ₹48,021 crore in FY26, from ₹32,803 crore in FY25 and ₹11,013 crore in FY24, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s annual report released in May.

In a separate report on 20 May, Mint said India’s largest banks were strengthening cyber defences, hiring specialised talent and expanding insurance coverage amid concerns that increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence tools could enable faster and harder-to-contain cyberattacks.

Banks are also stepping up efforts to track and recover stressed assets. State Bank of India (SBI), for instance, has begun digitizing its stressed-asset tracking systems to improve recovery processes and oversight.

Founded in 2016, AdvaRisk helps banks and financial institutions identify financial fraud, assess borrower risk and improve recoveries from loan defaults. It builds a database of real estate and other assets linked to defaulters, allowing lenders to identify assets against which they may be able to recover dues. The company also automates the identification of red flags in lender accounts.

AdvaRisk claims to work with several major financial institutions, including ICICI Bank, SBI, IDBI Bank, Punjab National Bank and AU Small Finance Bank.

According to data platform Tracxn, AdvaRisk has so far raised $7.89 million across four equity rounds. The company was founded by Vishal Sharma and Rahul Metkar.

AdvaRisk’s revenue rose from ₹6.7 crore in FY23 to ₹11.8 crore in FY25, while its losses widened from ₹4 crore to ₹10.7 crore over the same period, according to Tracxn. The founders collectively hold about 44% of the company. Other shareholders include Sprout Venture Partners, ICICI Bank and Big Capital, according to Tracxn.