Zeta will be using these freshly raised funds to expand its footprint in the US, Europe and India market.
Zeta, a banking startup has attained unicorn status after raising $250 Million from Softbank Vision Fund in a Series C funding round from Softbank Vision Fund 2 at a valuation of $1.45 Billion.
Founded in 2015, Zeta offers credit, debit and prepaid cards, loans and deposits.
Sodexo, a France-headquartered food service company, also participated as an additional minority investor in the round, with Avendus Capital acting as the financial advisor.
The newly raised funds will be used to scale its growth in the United States, Europe, and India. The unicorn is expected to expand the team, platform, and operations to meet the rising demand.
Founded in 2015 by Bhavin Turakhia and Ramki Gaddipati, the banking startup works with over 25 fintech firms and 10 banks, including HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, Yes Bank, RBL Bank, and Axis Bank.
CEO and Co-founder of Zeta, Bhavin Turakhia said, “Uptill now banks were using decade-old software built when mainframes and Cobol were in Vogue which created poor using experiences. With Zeta, FIs can leverage a modern, cloud native platform and improve speed to market, agility, cost to income ratio and user experience”
2021 has been the year of unicorns in India, with regional social media platform ShareChat, fintech startup CRED, social commerce startup Meesho, and epharmacy platform Pharmeasy, among others, entering the coveted billion-dollar valuation club. Before Zeta, Softbank invested $300 million in Meesho giving the platform its unicorn status.
According to Manish Varma, Managing Partner, SoftBank Investment, “Zeta’s modern Omni Stack will drive banking software upgrades catering to the digital consumer, and innovations in financial services globally. Banking software is a $300 billion industry globally. Most banks still employ technology which is significantly older than their customers, impacting user experience and engagement.”
Zeta has close to 750 employees, with offices across the United States, Asia, United Kingdom, and West Asia.