EpiFi Technologies Pvt. Ltd, which operates a neo-banking startup, has raised $13.2 million (approximately Rs 93.49 crore at current exchange rates) in its seed funding from a clutch of investors.
Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, and Hillhouse Capital participated in the funding round that valued the New Delhi-based company at around $50 million, The Economic Times reported.
Sujith Narayanan, co-founder at EpiFi, said the company will use the funds to enhance its technological infrastructure, acquire talent and early marketing and consumer adoption.
The firm’s product is currently in a pre-launch stage, he added.
VCCircle has reached out to EpiFi on the details of this investment and will update the report accordingly.
EpiFi, founded by former Google Pay executives Sujith Narayanan and Sumit Gwalani, says it has 20 people on its workforce from companies such as Google, PayPal, and Netflix.
The firm counts Cred founder Kunal Shah and David Velez – the founder of Brazilian financial technology company Nubank – as early backers.
Separately, Sequoia Capital India managing director Shailesh Lakhani said the two co-founders had managed to demonstrate innovation in products such as standard savings accounts, and that their work with Google Pay had shown that they were able to change the direction of financial services in India.
EpiFi is among a slew of neo-banking startups within the larger fintech segment that have raised funding in recent months. The firm also plans to offer a digital banking solution including savings accounts and debit card facilities.
Last month, informal sector-focussed neo-bank Kaleidofin raised Rs 36 crore (around $5.06 million) in Series A funding led by financial inclusion-focussed impact investor Oikocredit. Others that participated in the round were the Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Flourish, Omidyar Network India, Blume Ventures, angel investor Shlomo Ben-Haim, and Bharat Inclusion Seed Fund.
Other neo-banks that have raised money in recent months include NiYO Solutions, which received $35 million in a Series B funding round from several investors, including Chinese conglomerate Tencent. In September, digital banking firm Yelo raised seed funding in a round led by multi-stage investor Matrix Partners India.
In June, Tiger Global led a Rs 210 crore Series B funding round in Bengaluru-based Open, which provides collection and payout automation services for small businesses.
