Bengaluru-based startup Open, which operates as neo-bank targeting startups and small or medium scale businesses, stated on Tuesday, October 12, that it has raised $100 million in the latest round of funding led by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek. This takes the total valuation of the startup to $500 million.
In a Series C round of funding led by Temasek, Open saw participation from new investors such as Google and Japan’s SBI Investment along with funding from existing investors such as Tiger Global and 3one4 Capital. Open has now amassed total funding of $137 million since its inception in 2017.
On course to become a unicorn startup with a valuation exceeding $1 billion in 2022, the neo-bank is already in talks with investors to organise a Series D funding round within the next six months. This will give Open closer competition with existing neo-banks in the country such as Razorpay whose current valuation is $3 billion.
Assisting millions of SME units, the neo-bank offers nearly all the features of a regular bank along with additional features to make banking easier for businesses. It offers businesses a business current account which comes with services such as digital banking, invoicing, automated bookkeeping services and bandying out payments to employees.
Open has stated that it endeavours to utilise the accumulated capital to strengthen and expedite its new product line which includes an embedded finance platform called Zwitch and BankingStack, a cloud-native small and medium scale enterprises banking platform. With a partnership with over one dozen banks in India, Open has disclosed that its platform is being used by over 2 million businesses.
Open has shared its plans of expanding its base to 5 million businesses and also commencing global operations by launching into markets of South East Asia, Europe and the US in the upcoming year.
