Payment solutions provider ToneTag closes $78-million round led by ValueQuest

Kumar Abhishek, Founder and CEO of ToneTag

Amazon-backed voice-based payment and commerce solutions provider ToneTag has raised Rs 674 crore ($78 million) in a mix of primary and secondary deal led by Ravi Dharamshi’s private equity fund ValueQuest Scale Fund and venture capital firm Iron Pillar.

Existing investor Elevate Capital also participated in the round.

The money will be used to scale up operations, new recruitments, marketing initiatives and expansion in global markets, including  Asia and South America, the company said.

Previously, the firm raised $14.4 million from investors including Amazon, Mastercard and Elevate Innovation Partners and was valued at nearly $91.1 million as on Nov 15, 2023, Traxcn data shows.

Founded in 2013 by Vivek Singh and Kumar Abhishek, ToneTag enables businesses to integrate voice-powered interactions for shopping, ordering and payment through its Oyeti platform. It also offers VoiceSe UPI payment service for customers that facilitate voice-based transactions that work without internet access. It claims to handle more than 30 million interactions daily.

Its clients include retail, F&B businesses and Indian banks.

The fresh funding follows ToneTag’s strong financial performance and steady growth. The firm turned profitable in FY24, reporting a Rs 20.94 crore profit, a sharp turnaround from Rs 6.12 crore loss in the previous year.

The company’s revenue surged 111.7 percent to Rs 47.78 crore in FY24 from Rs 22.57 crore in FY23, data from TheKredible shows.

ToneTag’s innovative voice-based technology coupled with regulatory and customer validation positions it well to capture market opportunity. “At ValueQuest, we like backing companies that leverage new technology and commercialise offerings to address real world challenges," ValueQuest managing director and head Pushkar Jauhari said.

Ashok Ananthakrishnan, partner, Iron Pillar said ToneTag can play a crucial role in deepening and widening the UPI user base in both feature and non-feature phones in India.