Zeta in billion-dollar club, aided by SoftBank push

BENGALURU: Bengaluru-based neo banking platform which provides cloud API services to fintech and banking institutions, Zeta, is the latest entrant to the billion dollar startup club of India with a fundraise of $250 million led by Japanese investment giant SoftBank.

This is SoftBank’s second start-up bet in India for 2021 after leading a $300 million funding round in social commerce platform Meesho earlier this year. Zeta has seen its valuation rise to $1.45 with the latest investment round.  

The firm was valued at $300 million during a Series C funding round in 2019. Zeta’s co-founder Bhavin Turakhia said that the company aims to expand its global footprints with the current funds-raise. “Most banks are using decades-old software built when Mainframes and Cobol were in vogue. They have been slow to innovate and provide poor user experiences. With Zeta, FIs can leverage a modern, cloud native platform and improve speed to market, cost to income ratio and user experience” Turakhia said.

The firm has tied up with 25 fintech firms and 10 banks, including HDFC Bank, RBL Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Yes Bank. Year 2021 has so far seen the birth of 14 unicorns as startups leverage the digital acceleration induced by Covid.