GIC Leads CRED’s $140 Mn Series F Funding Round, Valuation Surges To $6.4 Bn

Fintech unicorn CRED has raised $140 Mn as part of its Series F funding round led by Singapore-based sovereign wealth fund GIC.

The round also saw participation from existing investors such as Sofina, Tiger Global, FalconEdge, and Dragoneer. According to a company spokesperson, the startup was valued at $6.4 Bn in the funding round.

The development comes months after Inc42 reported that GIC was looking to lead a funding round in the fintech unicorn.

CRED, founded in 2018 by Kunal Shah, offers premium credit card users rewards and benefits for paying their bills. It is also looking to foray into the ancillary services business built around its primary ecosystem of credit card-centric services.

The startup has raised more than $466 Mn since April 2021. Excluding the latest round, CRED has so far raised over $922.2 Mn in funding from marquee investors such as Tiger Global, Sofina, FalconEdge, among others.

With the fundraise, CRED has joined a host of unicorns with more than $5 Bn valuation.

• In January this year, foodtech giant Swiggy raised $700 Mn and doubled its valuation to $10.7 Bn, turning into a decacorn.
• In December last year, Razorpay raised $375 Mn in a funding round that pushed its valuation to $7.5 Bn. 
• Pine Labs, Dailyhunt’s parent company VerSe and Ola Electric are among the startups with a valuation of over $5 Bn who have raised a new round in the past one year.
• Others valued above $5 Bn include — hospitality unicorn OYO ($9.5 Bn), Dream11 ($8 Bn) and BYJU’S ($21 Bn)

Meanwhile, GIC continues to strengthen its portfolio of high-ticket Indian fintech companies. Earlier in March this year, GIC, along with Tiger Global, brought back shares worth $10 Mn from Razorpay’s workforce under the employee stock ownership programme (ESOP).

In November, the sovereign investment fund also took part in the $1.104 Bn anchor round of Paytm as part of its initial public offering (IPO). 

According to an Inc42 report, India’s addressable fintech market opportunity is expected to reach the $1.3 Tn mark by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 31% between 2021 and 2025. 

Indian fintech startups have raised more than $22 Bn in funding since 2014. Currently, the sector has 21 unicorns and 31 soonicorns, with a combined valuation of more than $74 Bn. 

In June this year, Fintech startup Jiraaf raised $7.5 Mn through equity financing as part of its Series A funding round. Besides, fintech firm Mobikwik is also in talks with investors to raise as much as $100 Mn in funding. 

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