Neobank: India’s 100th Unicorn Start-up

May 6, 2022

Open, a Bengaluru-based neobank platform has become the 100^th unicorn start-up in India.

What is the valuation of Open?

The start-up has raised fresh funds that increased its valuation to USD 1 billion. The new investment round to raise funds was led by IIFL, a Mumbai-based investment firm along with the existing investors, Temasek, Tiger Global, and 3one4 Capital. USD 50 million was raised in the latest round.

Who are the other investors of this start-up?

Temasek, Google, SoftBank, and Visa have invested USD 100 million in this neobank start-up Open.

When was Open founded?

The start-up was founded in the year 2017 by Anish Achuthan, his wife Mabel Chacko, and his brother Ajeesh Achuthan. Deena Jacob is the fourth founding member of this organization. In the month of May 2018, USD 2 million was raised by this start-up.

CEO- Anish Achutan
Chief Operating Officer- Mabel Chacko
Chief Technology Officer- Ajeesh Achutan
Chief Financial Officer- Deena Jacob

What does Open offer?

This start-up offers a platform through which all the tools that are used by small businesses are integrated with the current account of the business. In India, 20 lakh businesses are using this platform and annually more than USD 30 billion worth of transactions are being processed on this platform. Open also has the aim of launching three new products:

early settlement card offering Settl
revenue-based financing Flo
working capital lending Capital

What are Neobanks?

Neobanks are digital banks having zero branches. Instead, such organizations have their presence online. Neobank organizations target the tech-savvy customers. Neobanks basically are fintech firms providing mobile-first and digital services like debit cards, payments, lending, money transfers, etc. The services of the neobanks can be accessed via an app.

What are Unicorns?

A Unicorn is a start-up company that is privately held and has been valued at more than USD 1 billion. This term was made popular by venture capitalist Aileen Lee who is the founder of Cowboy Ventures.