Last month, there was news that Softbank is in advanced talks to invest in Zeta. Finally, the deal is closed between Zeta and Softbank. Zeta has joined the prestigious 1 billion-dollar club, popularly known as a unicorn. The startup that helps banks and other fintech firms to launch their products, is the fourteenth firm that has reached unicorn status in 2021.
Zeta Joins Unicorn Club
On Monday, Bhavin Turakhia, co-founder of Zeta, has officially released a statement that his startup has raised $250 million from Softbank. This was the series D financing round completed by Zeta. Sodexo, an existing investor of Zeta, also actively participated in the concluded financial round.
In April 2021, TechCrunch reported the above financing round talk. But the deal was not closed at that time.
Zeta operates from two major offices that are located in Bengaluru and Dubai. With the current financing round, Zeta reached a valuation of $1.45 billion. In the last funding round concluded in the mid of 2019, it was valued at $300 million.
Zeta has developed a technology stack that is bridging the gap among banks, fintech firms, and consumers. The startup helps banks in launching products that are beneficial for customers. It also makes business easy between banks and fintech firms.
Whenever banks launch their products including credit cards or debit cards, it is Zeta that guides them to provide the best experience to the users.
Currently, Zeta is serving 10 banks and 25 fintech businesses. It will invest current fundings to attract more clients in the future.
Softbank’s Investment in Indian Startups
Softbank, the Japanese investment firm, is showing a lot of trust in the Indian startup ecosystem. Last month, it helped Meesho to achieve unicorn status. After that, it is Zeta that got unicorn status due to Softbank vision fund 2.
As per media reports, Softbank is also in advanced talks with Swiggy to invest $500 million. And Softbank is also in touch with WhatFix related to new investment.
Why Softbank invested in the least talked banking software startup? Answering this question, Munish Varma, a managing partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, said in a statement:
“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 is the 14th Indian startup to become a unicorn this year. Recently, the Indian startup ecosystem completed a half-century of unicorns. For that, investors like Tiger Global, Falcon Edge, and SoftBank have invested a lot of money in Indian startups.
