Sequoia-backed CRED joins Unicorn club at a valuation of $2.2 billion

• Kunal Shah's fintech startup CRED has raised $215 million in new funding round at a valuation of $2.2 billion.
• Investors including Falcon Edge Capital, Caotue Management, DST Global, Tiger Global, among others, participated in the round.
• To date, The company has raised over $443 million in its funding rounds.

After Meesho, Kunal Shah's CRED, which offers rewards for paying credit card bills, has joined a unicorn club at a valuation of $2.2 billion after raising $215 million (about Rs 1,579 crore) in a Series D funding round led by new and existing investors.

The round saw participation from investors, including New York-based Falcon Edge Capital and existing investors --- DST Global, Coatue Management, Tiger Global, RTP Global, Sofina, Greenoaks Capital, Dragoneer Investment Group. With this round, CRED's total funding amount now stands at around $453 million.

The funding announcement comes at a time when the top Indian startups such as Zomato, Swiggy, and Meesho, raising million-dollar funding at a billion-dollar valuation. Meesho, a social commerce startup, also joined the unicorn club at a valuation of $2.1 billion after raising $300 million in funding.

Prior to this round, CRED had raised $81 million in a Series C funding round in January 2021, co-led by DST Global (one of the leading Internet investment firms globally) at a post-valuation of about $806 million.

Founded in 2018 by Kunal Shah, CRED is an online member-only platform that offers rewards and cashback to users for paying credit card bills through its platform. The company aims to build a robust rewarding ecosystem in the country and plans to infuse the capital to scale several of its revenue channels and engage in more experimentations, the statement said.

Speaking on the development, Kunal Shah, said, "Our focus on helping CRED members progress financially and have access to a high-trust environment has given us a massive opportunity to shape responsible behavior, imagine new use cases, and create a rewarding platform for members."

"We see our fundraise as a responsibility to build a rewarding ecosystem for CRED members and an opportunity to share value with stakeholders," he said. Additionally, The company has also announced a $5 million Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOPs) buyback option for its employees. In earlier January 2021, It had launched Rs 9 crore worth of ESOPs buyback option from existing and former employees. 

Also Read: Fintech startup EaseBuzz raises $4 million from 8i Ventures, Varanium Capital, others

It counts General Catalyst, Ribbit Capital, Sequoia Capital India, Gemini Investments, Rainmatter Technology, Hillhouse Capital, DF International Partners, among others, as investors.

Last year, The company had launched RentPay and CRED Stash. RentPay allows users to pay recurring household expenses and monthly rental payments through credit cards. While CRED Stash offers a low-interest instant credit line through a pilot with IDFC First Bank.

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