Google-backed neobank Open becomes unicorn with new funding

India has 100 unicorns now. The Bengaluru-headquartered neobank Open entered the coveted club on Monday with a new funding round, it said.

The five-year-old startup did not disclose the size of its Series D funding, but a source familiar with the matter said it’s about $50 million. The new round, which valued Open at $1 billion, was led by Mumbai-headquartered IIFL, the two said. Existing backers Tiger Global, Temasek and 3one4 Capital also participated in the round.

Open operates a neobank that offers small and medium-sized businesses as well as enterprises nearly all the features of the bank with additional tools to serve the needs of a business. Millions of small and medium sized businesses in India struggle with maintaining multiple bank accounts, bookkeeping of their daily spending, and bandying out payments to employees.

The startup, which has partnerships with over a dozen top banks in India, is used by more than 2.3 million businesses, it said.

In recent quarters, Open has expanded its offerings. The startup now provides its neobanking technology to banks in a white-label licensing arrangement, who then sell it to their customers.

The growth of Open in recent years, which has led to several other startups expand to and innovate in this category, has dramatically changed the relationship between banks and fintechs. Just a few years ago, most banks in India were skeptical of neobanks and it was very difficult to persuade any of them for a partnership, fintech founders have told TechCrunch.

“Neobanks are gaining prominence as platforms to digitise banking or bank-like services for millennials and SMEs. Top-4 global neobanks are worth $100 billion and Indian fintechs have made a start through likes of Open, RazorpayX, Fi, and Jupiter,” wrote analysts at Jefferies in a report last year.

“In fact, many Indian fintechs plan to expand from 1-2 platforms now to neobank over 3-5 years. Incumbent banks/NBFCs are partnering with them. Monetisation is some time away,” they added.

This is a developing story. More to follow…

source https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/01/google-backed-neobank-open-becomes-unicorn-with-new-funding/