Bhavin Turakhia looks to take Zeta to the US, Europe
The 40-year-old billionaire said the startup is not looking at any acquisitions or stake sales at present but, will be open for a strategic investor coming in like French player Sodexo.
Serial entrepreneur Bhavin Turakhia on Wednesday said he is focussing on taking his newest business to the US and Europe, as he looks to decrease the fintech firm's reliance on India for revenue.
The 40-year-old billionaire said the startup is not looking at any acquisitions or stake sales at present but, will be open for a strategic investor coming in like French player .
Turakhia said over $70 million has been invested in the startup, including $40 million by him and co-founders, and $30 million by Sodexo, for creating a product suite targeted at banks.
Bhavin Turakhia, co-founder and CEO, Zeta
"We have been building the product for four years and will be launching in the US, which is the biggest market for fintechs, and European countries this year," Turakhia said.
He said all his previous businesses, including Directi, have depended on overseas clients for revenue, but Zeta has been an exception, wherein it sold services to Indian banks initially, and then branched out to Brazil, the Philippines, and Vietnam in its four-year journey till now.
The UK, Italy, and Spain are the markets in Europe the startup is looking at, Turakhia said, adding that it takes up to six months for customising a product to local compliance requirements and ensuring connectivity with local financial switches.
The startup launched the suite called 'Tachyon' on Wednesday, wherein it has integrated a host of applications and services into a single suite.
It is also looking at increasing its total headcount to 650 by the end of March 2021, and half of the incremental talent will be hired overseas across functions, Turakhia said.
It will continue to look at India as a key for its engineering and product development activities, but will also hire talent for this function overseas, he added.
At present, it counts on Kotak Mahindra Bank, RBL Bank, IDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank as its clients, and it has also developed a few core banking software, for which it is in a few conversations.
Typically, a new-age bank or one which is entering into a new vertical like credit cards will be looking for the core banking solution, he said, adding the startup sees the ongoing mergers of state-run banks as an opportunity.
Turakhia said the startup will be "self-sufficient" from a cash flow perspective, and added that it does not require any external capital. It last raised a capital of $300 million valuations.
(Edited by Suman Singh)
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