Sequoia, Matrix join $24 mn funding round for Citrus Pay’s founder’s new startup: Report

Citrus Pay co-founder Jitendra Gupta’s new fintech startup Amica Financial Holdings has raised $24 million in a funding round from a group of investors including top-rung venture capital firms Sequoia Capital India and Matrix Partners India. 

The maiden funding round values the Mumbai-based startup, founded in August this year, at $70 million, The Economic Times (ET) reported.

Apart from the Sequoia and Matrix, venture capital firm Greyhound Capital, 3One4 Capital and Rocket Internet, and angel investors such as Falcon Edge Capital's Navroz Udwadia, DST Global’s Rahul Mehta, Snapdeal co-founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, Kunal Shah, founder of Cred, and BookMyShow founder Ashish Hemrajani and Nubank founder David Velez.

Gupta, who stepped down as managing director of Naspers-owned PayU in July this year, is the second entrepreneur in recent times to raise an outsized first round of funding from marquee investors for a new venture while still in stealth mode. Last year, Cred,  the fintech startup founded by Freecharge founder Kunal Shah, was reported to have raised $30 million in a Series A round that included investors such as Sequoia, Ribbit Capital and Ru-net.

It isn’t surprising though to see investors making a beeline for Gupta’s new venture, which the ET report said is expected to launch operations early next year. CitrusPay, his first startup, also in the fintech sector, was acquired by PayU for $160 million in 2016. The acquisition delivered handsome exits within a five-year period to investors such as Sequoia and Ascent Capital.

Amica Financial aims to offer savings account, investments and lending services to millennials in the Rs 50,000-plus salary bracket. The company has tied up with an undisclosed private bank for its capital requirements, the ET report said.

Gupta has teamed up with Vishnu Jerome, co-founder of law firm Jerome Merchant and Partners.

Gupta also has a portfolio of investments in startups such as healthcare platform Meddo, ecommerce platform CityMall, craft beer maker Bira91, fintech platform Juno and rental furnishing solutions provider Magneto Home.