Gold loan platform Rupeek raised $34 million at a valuation of $634 million led by Lightbox and existing investors, the company said on January 11.
The asset-backed digital lending platform said it also doubled its gold loan disbursals in December 2021 as compared to 2020. The company also recorded an annual disbursement run rate of $1 billion in December 2021.
According to Rupeek, it is the first asset-backed lending company to have reached this milestone in the fintech space.
Sumit Maniyar, Founder and CEO, Rupeek said, “Rupeek is the first brand that has digitised the entire process of obtaining secured credit against gold holdings, allowing users to get instant credit from the comfort of their homes. Our aim is to set the foundation for tech-led gold monetisation in the country through innovations and further, unlock growth and credit for a billion Indians.”
In 2022, Rupeek plans to grow its lender partner network from four to over 10, and its city footprint from 35 to over 120 cities.
In its last funding round the company had raised $33 million led by GVV Capital in March 2021, according to reports.
Prashant Mehta, Partner at Lightbox said, “Rupeek is targeting a massive $2 trillion opportunity, democratizing access to cheap capital and fueling India’s economy. This latest round of funding will be used to significantly scale and build India’s largest digital asset-backed fintech platform.”
Other investors in Rupeek include Bertelsmann, Sequoia Capital, Accel Partners, Better Capital's Vaibhav Domkundwar, among others.
Founded by IIT Bombay alumnus Maniyar in 2015, the company has over five lakh customers in over 30 cities accross India, with 55 percent of its customers being first-time borrowers. The company competes with legacy NBFCs and banks and also fintechs like Indiagold. It has also forayed into instant, MSME, business and Mudra loans.
