Online payment gateway startup Razorpay Software Pvt. Ltd, flush with cash from a fresh funding round recently, has made its first acquisition.
The Bengaluru-based company said in a statement on Monday it has acquired Gurugram-based artificial intelligence (AI) startup Thirdwatch Data Pvt. Ltd. It didn’t disclose the deal value.
The acquisition will help Razorpay boost its AI, machine learning and big data capabilities to improve its payment experience and avoid fraudulent transactions, it said.
“Fraud has been the albatross around e-commerce companies' necks for the longest time. Through this acquisition we will empower businesses across industries to digitally transform and disrupt, by improving their response and redressal mechanisms of combating fraud,” said Harshil Mathur, CEO and co-founder of Razorpay. “Together, I believe we can help reduce frauds by 30-40% by next year.”
Thirdwatch, founded by Shashank Agarwal, will become the wholly owned subsidiary of Razorpay and will be based at the acquirer’s Bengaluru headquarters.
The acquisition comes less than two months after Razorpay raised $75 million in a Series C funding round led by US-based fintech-focussed investor Ribbit Capital and Sequoia Capital India in June. Existing investors Tiger Global and Y Combinator also participated in the funding round.
Razorpay, which was set up in 2013 by IIT Roorkee alumni Mathur and Shashank Kumar, helps businesses accept online payments via credit and debit cards, internet banking and mobile wallets from customers.
The company claims it grew by 500% in the last one year and expects a five-fold jump in revenue by the end of the next fiscal year. Its customers include IRCTC, Airtel, BookMyShow, Zomato, Swiggy, Yatra and Zerodha.
The fintech segment has seen heightened investor activity over the past many months, with companies seeking to provide new-age products to customers across segments as well as address gaps in the financial services sector. Last month, for instance, hyperlocal financial technology company PayNearby acquired We Care Insurance Broking Services Pvt. Ltd.
