Fintech start-up CRED raising $200 million at $2 billion valuation
Bengaluru's two-year-old fintech start-up CRED is in advanced stages of talks to raise around $200 million. This will reportedly increase the company's valuation to about $2 billion. As of January, the company was valued at $806 million. A $200 million investment should make it a unicorn start-up ($1 billion valuation), but it isn't clear how the $2 billion valuation is being estimated.
CRED rewards members for timely payments of credit card bills
CRED allows its six million members to pay credit card bills and receive attractive offers in return. Applicants must have a minimum credit score of 750 to join the platform. CRED is monetized through margins on sales in the Stores section of the app and fees from banks when it extends credit lines to members. It has also diversified into lending and rent payments.
Fresh funding will be financed by an unnamed new investor
Anonymous sources told TechCrunch that the new round of funding will be largely financed by existing investors. CRED's existing investors include prominent VC firms such as DST Global, Tiger Global Management, Sequoia Capital, and Ribbit Capital. Meanwhile, an unnamed source told The Times of India that a prominent new investor is joining the round in the next two to three weeks.
CRED could become India's fourth unicorn start-up this year
TOI reports that the $200 million funding will make CRED India's second-fastest start-up to achieve the unicorn status. CRED will have achieved the feat in 29 months, second only to B2B e-commerce venture Udaan that became a unicorn in 26 months. CRED will be India's fourth unicorn start-up this year after Digit Insurance, Infra.Market, and Innovaccer.
CRED's founder Kunal Shah previously created FreeCharge
CRED has been founded by serial entrepreneur Kunal Shah. He previously founded FreeCharge, which was sold to Snapdeal for $400 million in 2015. He is also an angel investor himself, having stakes in Carl Pei's new venture called Nothing. Although CRED and Sequoia Capital declined TechCrunch's request for a comment on the matter, CRED is one of the most talked-about start-ups in the country.
