Optimo Capital Raises INR 150 Cr From Cofounder Prashant Pitti, Others

MSME lendingtech platform Optimo Capital has raised INR 150 Cr (around $17.5 Mn) in its Series A funding round led by its founder Prashant Pitti, along with participation from existing investors including Blume Ventures and Omnivore. 

The Bengaluru-based startup will utilise the fresh capital to expand its technology, AI infra, co-lending partnerships, and its footprint across tier III Indian cities. 

In a statement, the startup said that it has also raised a debt of INR 110 Cr from IDFC & Axis Bank. Going ahead, it said several PSU banks and large NBFCs are expected to be added to its platform as debtors or co-lending partners.

Founded by Pitti in 2023, Optimo Capital allows business owners to get loans against property virtually by uploading their documents on its portal. The startup claims to leverage its AI-driven workflow to offer in-principle sanction letters in 2 hours and disbursement in 48 hours.

By leveraging digital land records and AI-driven property valuation and title verification, Optimo Capital claims to enable entrepreneurs to use their homes or shops as collateral for higher loan amounts at lower interest rates than unsecured loans. 

Optimo Capital claims to have a loan book of INR 350 Cr and branches in 56 cities across Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh. Optimo Capital has a team of 480 employees right now. 

Last year, the startup raised INR 10 Cr in a seed funding round co-led by Blume and Omnivore, with participation from Pitti. 

Pitti, who is also the cofounder of EaseMyTrip, resigned from the position of the MD of the travel tech company in August to devote more time in supporting young startups and exploring new business opportunities.

Optimo Capital operates in the rapidly growing Indian fintech market, which is expected to reach a size of $2.1 Tn by 2030. It competes with startups like Clix Capital, CredAble, Finova Capital, Lendingkart among others.