SUMMARY
Since 2014, fintechs in India have raised $23.6 Bn in venture capital funding, behind only consumer internet and ecommerce
There have been a total of 1,219 fintech funding deals in India from 2014 till June 25, 2022
55% of the total fintech funding activity in India can be attributed to the top 30 fintech investors
India is rapidly growing to become a fintech hub of the world, with buy now, pay later (BNPL), credit and debit cards, co-branded cards, fintech SaaS, and other fintech products and solutions being created by more than 4,200 fintech startups in the country.
India’s fintech startup ecosystem is set to be a $1.3 Tn market opportunity by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 31% from 2021 to 2025, as per an Inc42 report. Since Paytm became India’s first fintech unicorn in 2015, the country has seen 21 fintech unicorns, along with more than 550 funded startups since 2014.
The success of the Indian fintech ecosystem is not only due to the startups but also due to fintech investors. Since 2014, fintechs in India have raised $23.6 Bn in venture capital funding, only behind a few segments like consumer internet and ecommerce.
The first quarter of 2022 saw 81 deals in the fintech sector, worth a collective $1.77 Bn. When compared to Q1 2021, the amount increased by 155% and was 45% higher than that in the preceding Q4 2021.
So far in 2022, there have been 160 fintech deals, which has seen fintech startups raise $3.47 Bn. This figure is bigger than the fintech funding amount in the entirety of 2020 and is almost 44% of the total funding in 2021.
Out of the 1,219 fintech funding deals from 2014 to June 25, 2022, 676 can be attributed to the top 30 investors in the space, or more than 55% of the total funding activity. Marquee investors such as Sequoia, Accel, Tiger Global and Y Combinator are among the top 30 fintech investors in India, each of which has participated in 23 deals on an average.
Most of these fintech investors are based out of the US. 14 of the top 30 fintech investors are from the US, with 12 from India, two from Singapore and one each from the UK and Germany.
The fears of a funding winter and a global economic slowdown due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has impacted the fintech startups as much as the rest of the verticals in the startup ecosystem. Besides, the fintech ecosystem in India is facing regulatory headwinds, further adding to the troubles.
However, all these have not deterred some of the biggest names in the venture capital space from investing in Indian fintech startups. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest investors in the Indian fintech ecosystem.
The Top 30 Fintech Investors
Sequoia Capital
Having participated in 85 fintech funding deals since 2014, the US-based venture capital firm is one of the largest and most influential of its kind in the world. The VC firm has invested in more than 400 funding deals in India since 2014, making it one of the biggest investors in India’s startup ecosystem.
Sequoia, founded in 1972 by Don Valentine in Menlo Park, California, serves major startup hubs such as the US, Southeast Asia, India, China and Israel. Some of its big-ticket fintech investments in India include BharatPe, CredAvenue, Khatabook and Razorpay, among others.
The VC firm has come under fire for corporate governance issues at some of its portfolio startups recently, such as Zilingo, BharatPe and others. It recently closed its India and SEA fund worth $2.85 Bn, of which $2 Bn is for seed and growth-stage ventures in India.
Accel
Accel, or Accel Partners as it is colloquially known, is one of the biggest backers of startups in India. Based out of the US, Accel has participated in 49 fintech deals since 2014 in India. In all, Accel has participated in 350 funding events in India’s startup ecosystem in general.
Founded in 1983 by Arthur Patterson and Jim Swartz, Accel serves startups in the US, the UK, India and China. Some of Accel’s big-ticket investments in India’s fintech ecosystem include Uni, Scripbox and Fleek.
In March 2022, Accel launched its seventh fund, the Accel India VII, worth $650 Mn. With the seventh fund, Accel’s total commitment in India crossed $2 Bn. The VC firm plans to invest with a focus on India’s early-stage startups.
Tiger Global Management
Tiger Global Management, also known as Tiger Global in short, is another US-based VC firm which invests heavily in Indian startups. The VC fund has invested in 46 fintech startup funding deals so far, while its total funding participation in India since 2014 stands at almost 200.
Founded in 2001 by Chase Coleman III in New York City, Tiger Global is one of the youngest marquee investors in the business. The VC firm focuses on startups in the US, India and China, with minor investments across other regions. Some of its big-ticket fintech funding has been in IndMoney, CRED, Razorpay, Open Money and slice.
According to a WSJ report, Tiger Global has closed its 15th fund, Tiger Global Private Investment Partners XV, at a mammoth $12.7 Bn.
Venture Catalysts & 9Unicorns
Based in India, Venture Catalysts and 9Unicorns are two of the most prolific investors in the fintech space in India. The VC firms have been a part of 40 fintech deals since 2014, having invested across 240 deals in total in India’s startup ecosystem.
Venture Catalysts and 9Unicorns, founded in 2016 and 2020, respectively, have the same leadership team – consisting of Dr Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, Anil Jain, Anuj Golecha, and Gaurav Jain. The firms focus on early-stage startups in India. They have some marquee investments such as Junio, HomeCapital, Nupay and Vested Finance.
In May, 9Unicorns closed its debut fund for the fifth time, having raised $100 Mn for the same. A month before, Inc42 had exclusively reported that Venture Catalysts was also raising a similar amount.
Y Combinator
One of the world’s most famous early-stage funds, Y Combinator is another US-based VC firm, though it is more of a startup accelerator. India’s Y Combinator has participated in 35 fintech deals, while it has made around 80 total investments in the country’s early-stage startups.
Founded in 2005 by Paul Graham, Jessica Livingston, Robert Tappan Morris, and Trevor Blackwell, Y Combinator has invested in fintechs such as Karbon Card, Stack Finance, Defy and Cashfree.
In its Winter Batch 2022, Y Combinator had selected 30 Indian startups, of which 10 were fintech startups, including Fello.
BEENEXT
BEENEXT is sixth on the list in terms of participation in the funding round of fintechs, having been part of 33 such deals. The Singapore-based fintech VC firm took part in more than 100 funding deals between 2014 and Q1 2022.
BEENEXT, founded in 2015 by angel investor Teruhide Sato, targets startups from India, Southeast Asia, Japan, and the US. The VC firm has several big-ticket investments in India, including in Jupiter, M2P Fintech, Smallcase, BharatPe and ShopSe.
Recently, BEENEXT joined the likes of Sequoia and Y Combinator to warn startups about a global economic slowdown and asked them to prepare for it.
Elevation Capital
Gurugram-based Elevation Capital is seventh on the list of top fintech investors, with 30 fintech deals on its portfolio.
Founded in 2002 by Ravi Adusumalli, Elevation Capital (formerly SAIF Partners) primarily participates in seed to Series A funding rounds of startups. It has invested about $2 Bn in more than 150 startups in India, including Paytm, Fampay, Uni, Jodo and Acko.
In April, Elevation Capital launched its eighth fund, Fund VIII, for $670 Mn to invest in early-stage and growth-stage startups.
Omidyar Network
Omidyar Network is a US-based venture capital firm and is in the top 10 fintech investors in India, having been part of 30 funding deals. In total, the VC firm has taken part in 106 funding deals since 2018 in India, when it first launched in the country.
Omidyar, founded in 2004 by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam as a “philanthropic investment firm”, counts several marquee investments in its portfolio such as Credflow, M2P Fintech, Scripbox and ZestMoney.
Omidyar’s most recent investment was not in fintech but the edtech sector. It participated in Entri.app’s $7 Mn round in February this year.
Ribbit Capital
Ribbit Capital is ninth on the list of top fintech investors, having participated in 28 fintech deals so far. Incidentally, all of the investments by the US-based VC firm in India have been in fintech startups only, with its first investment coming in PolicyBazaar in 2014.
The portfolio of Ribbit, founded in 2012, includes BharatPe, Razorpay, Groww, CRED and CoinSwitch, among others.
Ribbit’s latest investment in India’s fintech scene took place last year when it participated in the $50 Mn funding round of neobanking startup Fi.
Blume Ventures
The Delhi-based VC firm completes the list of top 10 most prolific fintech investors in India, having participated in 27 fintech startups’ funding rounds so far. It has participated in nearly 200 funding deals since January 2014.
Founded in 2010 by Karthik Reddy and Sanjay Nath, Blume Ventures’ portfolio includes the likes of slice, Instamojo, Turtlemint and Smallcase.
The VC firm is in the process of raising funds for its fourth India-dedicated fund, having made its first close in November 2021 at $105 Mn. Blume is targeting the next close at $200 Mn by the end of FY22.
Matrix Partners
Matrix Partners, a private equity (PE) firm based in the US, finished joint tenth on the list of fintech investors, with 27 fintech deals. It has participated in more than 150 deals in India’s startup ecosystem since March 2014.
Matrix Partners, founded in 1977 by Paul J. Ferri, was one of the early investors in Apple. The firm invests in seed and early-stage startups in the US and India. In India, it has participated in funding rounds of startups like Jupiter, OTO Capital, Jodo and Razorpay.
This month, Matrix Partners India announced that it will raise a $450 Mn fund.
Better Capital
Better Capital is one of the many India-based VC firms investing in Indian fintech startups. The VC firm has participated in 26 fintech deals, with a total of 87 funding events under its belt.
Founded in 2018, and run by Vaibhav Domkundwar, it is backed by founders, operators and investors from across the world. Some of its marquee backers include former or current leaders at Meta, Google, Uber, LinkedIn and Tiger Global, among others. It counts the likes of slice, Open, Rupeek and M2P among its big-ticket fintech investments.
In November 2021, it launched its first micro VC fund, specifically for seed stage-specific fund worth $15.28 Mn.
Kalaari Capital
Bengaluru-based Kalaari Capital, an early-stage VC firm, has invested in 24 fintech deals since August 2014. Kalaari has participated in 123 deals across multiple sectors in India’s startup ecosystem.
Founded in 2006 by Vani Kola, the only woman VC founder that features on this list so far, Kalaari Capital counts the likes of threedots, Upstox and Toffee Insurance among its notable investments. Kalaari Capital targets early and growth-stage startups in India for funding.
Recently, Kalaari received the backing of Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta to help Indian businesses scale under Meta’s ‘VC Brand Incubator Initiative’.
India Quotient
The Mumbai-based seed and early-stage VC firm have invested in 19 fintech deals since March 2014. India Quotient has invested in 87 total deals in all.
Founded in 2012 by Madhukar Sinha and Anand Lunia, India Quotient’s portfolio includes the likes of Lendingkart, Vyapar and LoanTap. The VC firm targets early and growth-stage startups across the country.
India Quotient announced its fourth fund in February 2021, with the VC firm targeting a corpus of $80 Mn. The Mumbai-based VC firm has since announced the closure of the fund at $64 Mn.
3one4 Capital
Bengaluru-based 3one4 Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm which has invested in 17 fintech startups in the country. In all, 3One4 has invested in almost 90 startups in the country since 2015.
Founded in 2015 by founding partners Pranav Pai and Siddarth Pai, 3one4 Capital has invested in fintech startups like Jupiter, Open, Indiagold, and Pazcare. The VC firm targets early-stage startups and funds them during their early days.
It announced its most recent fund in 2020 – Fund III worth $100 Mn. According to the VC firm’s website, it has committed funds worth $310 Mn so far.
Northern Arc Capital
The first lending-type investment firm on the list, Northern Arc Capital has helped 16 fintech startups with their capital requirements in India since 2017, having lent to 24 startups in total. Northern Arc is backed by equity investors like LeapFrog, Eight Roads, Accion, SMBC and IIFL.
The debt firm, currently led by MD and CEO Ashish Mehrotra, counts the likes of BharatPe and Karbon Card among its big bets. It has also helped Aye Finance, slice and True Balance with debt funding.
Most recently, Northern Arc participated in an INR 55 Cr debt round of Karbon Card in May 2022.
Amazon
The US-based ecommerce and tech major is also one of the top investors in India’s fintech startup ecosystem. The company has participated in 14 fintech deals so far. In terms of overall participation in India’s startup ecosystem, it has 27 deals in its portfolio. Amazon has an India-focused $250 Mn fund called the Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund, allowing the ecommerce major to invest in SMBs and startups.
Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, famously in his garage in Bellevue, Washington, Amazon is one of the world’s biggest companies, with a market cap of $1.17 Tn. At the same time, Amazon also invests in tech startups across the globe.
Amazon has been under fire for several reasons in India. Most recently, the ecommerce giant has been embroiled in a bitter legal spat with Future Retail, which has seen Amazon resort to publicly accusing the other parties of fraud. The next date for the hearing of the case in the Supreme Court is on June 28.
Prime Venture Partners
Another Bengaluru-based early-stage private equity firm on the list, Prime Venture Partners has participated in 13 fintech deals in the country since 2014. In all, the VC firm has participated in more than 40 startup funding deals in India.
Founded in 2011 by Amit Somani, Bala Parthasarathy, Sanjay Swamy and Shripati Acharya, Prime Venture Partners focuses on early-stage startups and has launched four venture capital funds so far. It counts Niyo, MoneyTap and Affordplan among its major fintech investments in the country.
In February this year, Prime Venture Partners closed its fourth VC fund, the Fund IV, raising $120 Mn to invest across fintech, edtech, healthtech, consumer internet and global SaaS sectors.
Pravega Ventures
Pravega Ventures, a Delhi-based private equity firm, has participated in 12 fintech funding rounds since 2017. In total, it has been a part of 18 funding deals across India’s startup ecosystem so far.
Founded in 2016 by Mukul Singhal, Rohit Jain and Vinay Menon, Pravega Ventures aims to be the first institutional investor in a startup it is funding and looks for exits at later stages. It usually participates in seed or pre-Series A funding rounds.
The VC firm’s latest funding deal happened in September 2021, when it participated in ePayLater’s $10 Mn Series A funding round.
Titan Capital
Titan Capital is a Gurugram-based early-stage private equity firm. In India’s fintech ecosystem, Titan Capital has been a part of 11 funding deals so far, while it has a total of 68 deals under its belt in the larger startup ecosystem of the country.
Titan Capital, founded by Snapdeal cofounders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, targets India’s seed and pre-Series A stage startups. It counts Claimbuddy, Tinkerr and Fleek among its major investments in the country.
Most recently, Titan Capital participated in the pre-Series A round of fintech startup ClaimBuddy, having been an investor at earlier stages as well.
Saama Capital
Saama Capital is an early-stage VC firm based in Bengaluru. The VC firm has raised four funds so far. It raised its last fund, Fund IV, of $100 Mn in 2018. It has been a part of 11 fintech deals so far in India’s startup ecosystem, while it has participated in 49 deals overall.
Founded by Ash Lilani and Suresh Shanmugham in 2012, the VC firm targets to be an early investor in a startup. However, it has also been a part of various growth stage and late-stage funding rounds as well. In India, it counts startups like Zeni, Fisdom and Lendingkart among its major investments.
Saama Capital’s most recent funding activity happened in February 2022, when it participated in a funding round for D2C brand DaMENSCH.
Trifecta Capital
Trifecta Capital, a US-based venture capital firm, has participated in 15 fintech deals and 105 deals overall in India’s startup ecosystem. It has raised over INR 4,500 Cr across three venture debt funds and one late-stage VC fund. Trifecta Capital also has a financing and advisory platform to support startups.
Founded in 2015 by Rahul Khanna and Nilesh Kothari, it invests in seed and early-stage startups but continues to support them till IPO. In India, it has been part of some big funding rounds and counts the likes of Kissht, Scripbox, Turtlemint, Klub and BharatPe in its portfolio.
Its most recent participation in India’s startup ecosystem was through the $108 Mn funding round of Country Delight in May 2022.
Quona Capital
Quona is a fintech-focused, early-stage venture capital firm based out of the US. It has participated in 10 fintech deals and 13 deals overall in India’s startup ecosystem.
Quona, founded in 2015 by Ganesh Rengaswamy, Jonathan Whittle, Miguel Herrera and Monica Brand Engel, is the third VC firm on this list with a woman founder. Its portfolio in India includes ZestMoney, Fisdom and Rupifi, among others.
Quona’s latest investment in India’s startup ecosystem was in January this year when it participated in the $60 Mn Series C round of agritech startup Arya.Ag.
Elevar Equity
US-based VC firm Elevar Equity invests across various stages of a startup. The VC firm operates across multiple geographies, with its legal headquarters based in the US. In India, it has been involved in 10 fintech deals and 17 deals overall.
Led by Johanna Posada and Sandeep Farias, it counts Indifi, Niro and InCred among its major fintech investments in India. It is the fifth VC firm with a woman leader on this list.
Elevar Equity’s latest investment in an Indian startup was in May 2022, when it led the INR 250 Cr funding round of fintech startup StrideOne.
Steadview Capital
A UK-based VC firm, Steadview Capital is a VC firm that plays in the private equity market. It claims to have $4 Bn in assets under management (AUM). In India, it has participated in nine fintech deals and 46 deals overall.
Founded in 2009 by Kalp Parekh and Ravi Mehta, Steadview Capital counts the likes of BharatPe, Chargebee and IndMoney among the fintech startups in its portfolio.
Most recently, Steadview participated in the $250 Mn funding round of fintech startup Chargebee.
Soma Capital
Soma Capital is a US-based VC firm targeting investment in the early stages of a startup. In India, it has been a part of nine fintech deals and 16 deals overall since 2017. It claims to have invested more than $60 Bn in startups across the world.
Soma, founded in 2015 by Aneel Ranadive, invests in pre-seed and seed stages. The VC firm was an early investor in Razorpay, TradeX, Stack Finance, Swipe and Better Opinions.
Its most recent participation in an Indian funding round came in March 2022, when it participated in the $2.2 Mn funding round of Janani, a healthtech startup. Before that, it had participated in Swipe’s $2 Mn seed round.
Insight Partners
Insight Partners is one of the biggest VC firms in terms of investments in the world. It claims to have over $20 billion of assets under management (AUM). Based in the US, Insight has participated in nine fintech deals in India and 21 deals overall in the startup ecosystem.
Founded by Jeff Horing and Jerry Murdock in 1995, the VC firm invests across industries and stages. It has been an early investor in the likes of BharatPe, Chargebee, CRED, CredAvenue and slice, all of which are unicorns now.
Insight’s last investment came in March 2022 when it was a part of the $100 Mn funding round of web3 startup FanCraze.
Global Founders Capital
Global Founders Capital, or GFC, is a Germany-based VC firm that invests from seed to late-stage funding rounds of startups. In India, it has participated in nine fintech deals and 23 deals overall.
GFC, founded in 2013 by Oliver Samwer, counts Jupiter, Swipe and FamPay among its notable fintech investments in India.
The company’s last participation in an Indian startup’s funding round came in February 2022, when it was a part of Swipe’s $2 Mn seed round.
LetsVenture
LetsVenture is a Singapore-based angel investing platform backed by Accel, Chiratae Ventures, Nandan Nilekani, Ratan Tata, Rishad Premji, Mohandas Pai, Sharad Sharma and Anupam Mittal. Its platform has allowed startups to raise around INR 2,800 Cr across more than 722 rounds, with a portfolio worth $7.5 Bn.
Founded in 2013 by Sanjay Jha and Shanti Mohan, LetsVenture is the sixth investment firm with a woman founder on this list. In India, the angel investment platform has backed nine fintech startups like Scripbox, The Money Club and Siply.
LetsVenture has offerings like LetsGrow, a network of angels to guide startups; Angel AIF which allows angel investors to commit a minimum of INR 25 Lakh over five years, and LV Titans. Its most recent investment was in deeptech startup AjnaLens when it participated in its $1.5 Mn pre-seed round.
Vertex Ventures
Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India is ranked 30th on the list of top fintech investors in India. The global VC firm has participated in eight fintech funding deals. The firm, headquartered in Singapore for its Indian and Southeast Asian operations, has been a part of 35 funding deals in India’s startup ecosystem.
Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India is part of Vertex’s global network of VC funds and invests in high-growth start-ups seeking their first round of institutional venture capital funding in Southeast Asia and India. In India, it counts Recko, Kissht and Nium among its major investments in the fintech sector.
Vertex last participated in the $19.5 Mn funding round of audio platform Kuku FM.
