CRED raises $75M in down round, valuation falls to $3.5B
What's the story
Fintech unicorn CRED has raised around $75 million in its Series G funding round, led by Lathe Investment, a subsidiary of GIC. Other investors in the round include Sofina Ventures, RTP Global, and QED Innovation Labs founded by Kunal Shah, the founder of CRED. The latest funding round has reportedly valued CRED at $3.5 billion—a massive 45% drop from its last valuation in 2022.
Expansion
Expansion into personal finance
Over the last year, CRED has expanded its personal finance services with new offerings like CRED Money for managing personal finances, CRED Garage for vehicle services, and CRED Travel for booking travel. The platform also launched a wallet feature that allows users to preload funds for seamless payments at various merchants. It was also among the first fintechs to support the Reserve Bank of India's digital currency by offering an e-rupee wallet to select users.
Innovation
CRED cash+ offers loans against mutual fund investments
CRED recently launched CRED cash+, a digital credit facility that lets members borrow against their active mutual funds without redeeming them. Akshay Aedula, head of product and growth at CRED, said this offering is aimed at providing liquidity while allowing members to continue earning market-linked returns. "CRED cash+ allows members to borrow against their mutual fund investments without disrupting long-term growth," Aedula said.
Growth
CRED's financials for FY24
CRED closed FY24 with a revenue of ₹2,473 crore, up 66% from the previous year. The company reported an operating loss of ₹609 crore, down from ₹1,024 crore a year earlier. CRED is building a financial services business on top of its core credit card bill payment operations and offers unsecured consumer loans as well as secured credit products like loans against mutual funds.