[Funding alert] Fintech startup Slice turns unicorn after raising $220M led by Tiger Global, Insight Partners

Bengaluru-based fintech startup Sliceis the latest entrant into the unicorn club, with a five-fold jump in valuation to $1 billion within six months. 

The startup, which issues credit cards targeted at young professionals, raised $220 million in its Series B round led by New York-based investment firms Tiger Global and Insight Partners, said a statement.

The round also saw participation from notable angel investors Guillaume Pusaz and Binny Bansal, as well as new and returning investors including Advent International’s Sunley House Capital, Moore Strategic Ventures, Anfa, Gunosy, Blume Ventures, and 8i. 

Slice will utilise the capital to expand and strengthen its presence in the payments space, hire talent, and expand its product offerings. 

Founded in 2015 by Rajan Bajaj and Siva Kumar Tangudu, the company has raised $250 million in equity financing to date. This includes its $20 million funding round from Gunosy Capital and Blume Ventures in June, which valued the company at $200 million, according to reports. 

“The idea was never to burn capital and acquire users forcefully, but to set up a sustainable and robust business. We’ve kept our heads down in the initial years and focussed solely on simplifying the consumer journey and creating a cutting-edge risk underwriting system,” said Rajan Bajaj, CEO of Slice in the statement. 

Slice recently announced its credit card product with a limit of Rs 2,000 for the new-to-credit population in India. Apart from this, the company issues digital and physical prepaid VISA cards with a credit line similar to credit cards. It also offers two percent cashback on transactions and bill-payment in instalments. 

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The startup claims to issue over two lakh cards a month and has a registered user base of 50 lakh. 

Slice’s product is riding high on the ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ (BNPL) wave, which is set to grow to $45-50 billion by 2026 from $3-3.5 billion at present, according to a report by market research firm, Redseer. The space has seen larger payments incumbents such as PayU, Paytm and Pine Labs doubling down on the opportunity,  apart from digital lending companies such as ZestMoney, CASHe, and Simpl.