Fintech startup EarlySalary raises $110 M in Series D round led by TPG’s The Rise Fund

Fintech startup EarlySalary, which offers instant cash loans and salary advances, has raised $110 million in a Series D round led by TPG’s The Rise Fund and Norwest Venture Partners. Existing investor Piramal Capital and Housing Finance Limited also participated in the round.

This is EarlySalary’s largest fund raise to date, and the company confirmed its valuation to $300 million. The company had raised $34 million in previous rounds from Eight Roads, Chiratae Ventures, Piramal Capital and Housing Finance Limited, and angel investors.

The latest investment will enable EarlySalary to grow its business significantly in the next 24 months. The Series D round of $110 million includes a secondary sale. Unitus Capital acted as the exclusive advisor for the transaction.

Founded by Akshay Mehrotra and Ashish Goyal, in 2015, Pune-based EarlySalary provides accessible financial lending solutions of up to Rs 5 lakh to working professionals. The company expanded into the affordability segment and introduced the buy now, pay later (BNPL) service to customers, with a focus on education, health, and consumer product financing.

Commenting on this funding, Akshay Mehrotra, Co-founder and CEO, EarlySalary, said, “We believe in a customer-first approach to providing credit to young middle-income Indians and we are thankful for the trust millions of Indians have put in us. As our customers’ aspirations and credit needs grow, we will focus to continue to retain their trust and grow with them. The funding will not only help us in expanding our cash business but also build an array of capabilities to efficiently serve a larger segment of customers. We are confident in our ability to keep innovating and achieving 10x large growth in our customer base.”

With a team size of over 500 members, the company claims to have rapidly expanded its presence from 18 cities to over 150 cities and increased its customer base to 1 million customers, with 12 million app downloads.

Akshay Tanna, Partner at TPG, said, "Through its innovative platform, EarlySalary delivers a critical financial service to the growing, yet underserved, middle-income segment in India. By providing modest, short-duration loans at competitive rates, EarlySalary is improving the financial health of its customer base and empowering them to finance things like upskilling courses, healthcare needs, personal emergencies, and short-term cash-flow mismatches. Akshay and Ashish have built a world-class team and a market-leading product that is poised to continue to meet the needs of India’s rising middle class and we are delighted to be a part of its next chapter of growth.”

(The story was updated with changes in the headline.)