[Funding] SME-focused neobank startup Open raises Rs 735 Cr from Temasek, Google, SBI Investment

SME-focused neobanking platform Open on Tuesday raised Rs 735 crore ($100 million) as part of its Series C round led by Temasek. It also saw participation from Google, venture capital firm SBI Investment, and existing investors Tiger Global and 3one4 Capital.

The fintech platform will use the funds to strengthen and accelerate its new product lines, including embedded finance platform, Zwitch, and BankingStack, a cloud-native SME banking platform for financial institutions. The latter is deployed at over 15 banks in India. 

Speaking on the development, Anish Achuthan, CEO, Open, said,

“Over the last four years, we’ve grown from strength to strength to be the fastest-growing SME neobanking platform globally. Our product offerings have helped nearly two million SMEs in the Indian market, and we’re just getting started. We look to expand our product range in the coming months in embedded finance and enterprise banking."

Eyeing global markets like Southeast Asia, Europe, and the US, the startup hopes to increase its user base of two million small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to five million by August 2022.

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Founded in 2017, the Bengaluru-based startup offers a neobanking platform that integrates tools used by small businesses with the business current account.

Pranav Pai, Founding Partner and CIO, 3one4 Capital, said, “The team at Open have combined deep domain expertise and product-focused rigour to deploy a full-stack solution that places SMEs at the centre. This platform has set the standard for business banking and will take this full-stack approach into new adjacencies and geographies."

In February, Open acquired goods and services tax and financial automation startup Optobizz for $5 million to add a tax filing product to its platform.

During the Singapore Fintech Festival in late 2019, Open partnered with Visa to launch ‘Founders Card’ — a business credit card that helps startups and SMEs manage their expenses and vendor payouts easily.