Neobanking platform Open has raised $50 million in a Series D funding round led by a new investment firm, IIFL. The funding round also saw the participation from existing investors including Temasek, Tiger Global and 3one4 Capital. Open is now valued at $1 billion, making it the 100th entrant in the prestigious unicorn club (or companies with $1 billion valuation), according to a company statement.
The start-up says that it has built Asia’s first digital banking platform for SMEs, start-ups, and freelancers and has increased its customer base to 2.3 million customers in the last 12 months.
Open said that it will utilise the funds for the launch of three new product offerings on SME lending. The new products include Open Flo – an innovative revenue-based financing product for e-commerce businesses; Open Settl – early settlement credit offering; and Open Capital – working capital lending offering for SMEs. Open is targeting to disburse $1 billion in lending through the new suite of products on the platform in the next 12 months, the company added.
The funding will also help Open accelerate its existing product lines Zwitch (embedded finance platform) and BankingStack (enterprise banking solution for banks), drive global expansion and reach over 5 million customers within the next one year. The funds will also be used to strengthen the leadership team and increase the employee base from 500 to 1000 within the year.
“We are excited to partner with IIFL and existing investors Tiger Global, Temasek and 3one4 Capital for our Series D round. We see a lot of synergies with IIFL, especially on leveraging the lending book, as we are getting ready to launch innovative products like revenue-based financing, early settlement, working capital loan and business credit cards to SMEs on our platform,” said Anish Achuthan, co-founder & CEO, Open.
“We are delighted to be part of the most exciting neobanking venture in India. Indian MSMEs banking and credit delivery can be revolutionised by Open. We look forward to strengthening the partnership in multiple ways,” said R Venkatraman, co-promoter, IIFL Group & Chairman, IIFL Securities, in a statement.