ETtech Deals Digest: Razorpay, Chargebee raise funds

India’s fast-growing fintech and digital payments sector continues to attract investors as payment gateway startup Razorpay raised fresh funds this week. Meanwhile, software-as-a-service startup Chargebee became the latest startup to join the coveted unicorn club.

Razorpay valuation trebles in less than 6 months

Razorpay has raised $160 million from Sequoia India and Singapore-based GIC in a funding round that has trebled its valuation to $3 billion in less than six months. Existing investors Ribbit Capital and Matrix Partners also participated in the fundraising.

ET was the first to report on this funding in its February 25 edition.

Razorpay is among the fastest startups to see a meteoric increase in its valuation. The Bengaluru-based company had joined the unicorn club of startups with over a billion-dollar valuation last October, when it raised $100 million at a valuation of just over $1 billion in a round co-led by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and Sequoia Capital.

Chargebee enters unicorn club

Chargebee has secured $125 million in Series-G funding, valuing the SaaS startup at $1.4 billion post-investment.

New investor Sapphire Ventures and existing investors Tiger Global and Insight Venture Partners co-led the round, with participation from Steadview Capital, which already backs the company.


The valuation of the Chennai-based company, which provides a subscription billing and revenue management platform, has tripled in six months. Prior to Chargebee’s announcement on Tuesday, at least half a dozen Indian startups have already entered the unicorn club this month and about 11 since the beginning of the year.

Tessolve raises $40 million in funding

Semiconductor engineering and testing service provider Tessolve has landed $40 million in funding from Singapore-based private equity firm Novo Tellus as it looks to build chops in semiconductor design to feed a growing demand for custom silicon globally.

The funding values the Hero Electronix-owned company at $100 million. It plans to utilise the capital to beef up its semiconductor design and engineering capabilities inorganically through acquisitions in the US Bay area, while also expanding its geographical presence. It said it will also invest in developing IP for its test engineering business.

Coinswitch Kuber valued at $500 million

Coinswitch Kuber, a cryptocurrency investment platform for retail traders, has raised $25 million in a Series B round from Tiger Global Management at a valuation of more than $500 million.

This marks the first investment of the New York-based investor in a cryptocurrency platform in India. It comes despite reports that the government is working on legislation that seeks to ban all cryptocurrencies. According to cofounder and CEO Ashish Singhal, the Tiger investment closed in mid-February, in the midst of regulatory uncertainty.

Other key deals

• CoLearn has secured $10 million in a Series A funding round co-led by Alpha Wave Incubation and GSV Ventures.
• Esports and skill gaming platform Mobile Premier League has acquired New Delhi-based esports gaming platform GamingMonk.
• Instamojo, a full-stack solutions provider for MSMEs, announced its first-ever acquihire of Bengaluru-based virtual theatre and vernacular content platform, Showman.