Neobank Fi Raises $50 Mn From B Capital, Falcon Edge; Valuation Soars By 7x To $315 Mn

Bengaluru-based neobanking startup Fi (formerly, epiFi) has raised $50 Mn in its Series B funding round. Led by B Capital Group, Falcon Edge and others, the round was concluded in addition to an earlier interim investment from Sequoia Capital and Ribbit Capital.

The latest round boosts the startup’s valuation to $315 Mn — a 7x raise from its Series A round. The funds raised will be used to fuel Fi’s growth, as it has opened its Android app for beta users. The startup also plans to scale its iOS app launched last month. It also plans to launch an investment feature on its app, allowing users to invest in stocks, mutual funds, etc.

Founded in 2019 by former Google Pay-pioneers Sujith Narayanan and Sumit Gwalani, the startup aims to address the banking pain points such as building a digital layer over the traditional banking ecosystem. The full-stack neobanking solution claims to have over 1 Mn users who were on the waitlist to open a savings account.

The startup’s product offerings include:

• Zero-balance savings account with a debit card issued in partnership with Federal Bank
• A smart deposit system, which is a mix of an FD (fixed deposit) and an RD (recurring deposit)
• An AI-based wealth management guide called FIT Rules
• A consolidated datasheet of all bank accounts of one user
• A digital assistant called Ask.Fi, that leverages the data to streamline savings.

Last year, the fintech startup had raised $13.2 Mn in a seed funding round from Sequoia India and Ribbit Capital. In June 2021, it raised $12 Mn in a Series A funding round at a $45 Mn valuation.

Globally, the neobanking market is expected to reach a value of $333.4 Bn by 2026, rising at a market growth of 47.1% CAGR from 2020, as per KBV Research. In the market, Fi competes with Jupiter, Razorpay, Open, Niyo, FamPay.

Some of the recent fundings in this space include:

• Fintech startup Zolve raised $40 Mn in a Series A funding round led by DST Global.
• Neobanking startup Open had raised $100 Mn in a Series C round at a valuation of $500 Mn.
• Former PayU India CEO and Citrus Pay cofounder, Jitendra Gupta’s neobanking startup Jupiter raised $44 Mn from Nubank at a $300 Mn valuation.

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