Fintech unicorn CRED has raised $251 million Series E funding from Tiger Global and Falcon Edge.

This round also saw the participation of two new investors Marshall Wace and Steadfast, along with DST Global, Insight Partners, Coatue, Sofina, RTP, and Dragoneer. This funding round has valued the company at $4.01 billion.

Started in 2018, CRED is a fintech start-up which rewards users with points for making credit card payments. It has since also added new offerings such as personal loans and rent payments, in its bid to become a full-stack financial service provider. The company has also recently launched its peer-to-peer lending product which allows CRED users to lend other users money at nine per cent interest rate.

Exponential growth

Fintech sector in India has recorded an exponential growth in investments this year. In the first three quarters of 2021, investments worth $4.6 billion were recorded in India's fintech space, an increase of approximately 296 per cent from $1.6 billion in 2020.

Also read: CRED launches new peer-to-peer lending feature, CRED Mint

According to a PwC India report titled, “Startup Perspectives - Q3 CY21”, investments worth $2.4 billion for 53 closed deals were recorded in Q3 CY21 alone across various stages of investment. Going forward, analysts expect exits in the fintech sector to increase, both in terms of IPOs and acquisitions.

Overall, the Indian start-up ecosystem reported an investment totalling $10.9 billion across 347 deals in Q3 of CY21. This is the first time that investments in a quarter have crossed the $10 billion mark. Further, 89% of funding activity in CY21 (value terms) was driven by growth- and late-stage companies. However, these represented 39% of the total deal activity (count terms). In the first three quarters of CY 21, 29 Indian start-ups attained unicorn status, majorly across the SaaS, fintech and edtech sectors.

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