[Funding alert] Neobank startup Zolve raises $40M led by Partners of DST Global

Zolve, the neobank startup that helps immigrants in the US to access financial services, has raised Rs 300 crore ($40 million) in a Series A round of funding.

This round was led by Partners of DST Global, with participation from Tiger Global, Alkeon Capital, as well as existing investors Accel and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Zolve is now valued at Rs 1,575 crore ($210 million).

The startup aims to use this capital to scale its financial services platform besides expanding the partner network as well as the hiring of talent in the US and India.

“While we intended to start with a small cohort of 500 users, we were oversubscribed by almost 90X from working professionals and students within the first few weeks. This incredible traction has been far beyond what we had envisioned and clearly demonstrates that there is a tangible need for a service that provides global citizens equitable access to financial products,” said Raghunandan G (‘Raghu’), CEO and Founder of Zolve.

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“Zolve is among the few startups I’ve seen that achieved product-market fit right out of the gate. Given that the US is a country with immigrants in its DNA, it’s surprising how long it has taken someone to solve the issues that new immigrants experience with the traditional banking system,” said Anand Daniel of Accel.

Founded by serial entrepreneur and angel investor Raghunandan G, Zolve provides immigrants — working professionals and students — bound to the US with access to bank accounts, high-limit credit cards, and debit cards. It does so without the need for an SSN (social security number) or US credit history and while they are still in their home countries.

According to Zolve, since launching in September 2021, more than 70,000 customers from Australia, Canada, Germany, India, and the United Kingdom, among others, have signed up for its services.

Zolve aims to be a full-stack financial services provider with products focused on instant remittance, insurance, and loans.