Cred set to become fastest Indian startup to get unicorn status, eyes $2 billion valuation with Falcon Edge funding $200 million: Report

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Falcon Edge’s Alpha Wave Incubation Fund is in ‘advanced talks’ to lead a $200 million funding round for Kunal Shah’s fintech startup Cred.

The infusion would take Cred into unicorn status, giving the startup nearly $2 billion valuation, sources told The Economic Times. It will also make 2.5-year-old Cred the fastest Indian startup to achieve this milestone.

Moneycontrol could not immediately verify the report.

While the funding round will be led by Alpha Wave, Cred’s existing investors Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital and DST Global will also participate, the sources added.

Falcon Edge and Cred did not respond to queries, the report said.

This round comes after Cred raised $80 million for valuation of $800 million in November 2020 and will likely double the firm’s valuation in less than four months, it added.

Cred raises $81 million from DST Partners, others at $800 million valuation, buys back ESOPs

Cred was founded in 2018 and raised $30 million for valuation of $450 million in its Series A seed funding round in August 2019. The credit card payments has benefitted from customers’ shift to online payments amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Cred has nearly 60 lakh customers, providing them reminders and a platform for timely payment of dues. It also charges its bank partners a fee for “improved fiscal discipline” of their customers.

Prospects look bright for the company. A source told the paper: “…owning customer experience is valued by merchant and financial institutions and a third of Cred’s members access the platform three or more times a month”.