Debt collection startup DPDzero raises $7M from GMO, Blume, and others
The Bengaluru-based company said the funds will be used to scale its AI-led multilingual collections platform and roll out a professional network of field collection agents.
DPDzero, a startup focused on reimagining debt collection for Indian lenders, has raised $7 million in a Series A funding round led by GMO Venture Partners. The round also saw participation from SMBC Asia Rising Fund, Blume Ventures, India Quotient, Sinarmas Group, and others.
The Bengaluru-based company said the funds will be used to scale its AI-led multilingual collections platform and roll out a professional network of field collection agents. The company aims to build a high-performance, ethics-focused collections infrastructure for India’s financial institutions.
“Collection has been the ignored stepchild of lending; it’s low tech, low intelligence, and worryingly, low ethics, as well,” said Ananth Shroff, CEO and Founder of DPDzero. “We are building the collections company India has been waiting for—reinventing everything from the ground up, bringing back the dignity it really deserves.”
Founded by Shroff and Ranjith Ramachandra, DPDzero combines behavioural data, AI-powered agents, and human operations to help banks and NBFCs improve recoveries while enhancing borrower experience. The company claims to have grown its revenue sixfold over the past 18 months and works with lenders including Tata Capital, Moneyview, L&T Finance, and Manappuram Finance.
“Collections is the least evolved part of India's lending stack and DPDzero is playing a key role changing that,” said Rahul Patidar, Chief Risk Officer at Moneyview. “Their ability to combine emerging tech, human ops and borrower intelligence has made a great difference for us… both in terms of collections velocity and borrower experience.”
GMO Venture Partners, which led the round, is expanding its presence in India’s fintech sector with this investment. “We believe DPDzero is building the foundational collections infrastructure by combining AI, execution-first DNA, and the kind of founder obsession required to disrupt the category,” said Ryu Muramatsu, Founding Partner at GMO Venture Partners.
SMBC Asia Rising Fund, managed by Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, also participated. “As digital lending expands into emerging and diverse markets, the ability to manage collections with consistency and compliance becomes increasingly important,” said Keiji Matsunaga, General Manager of the bank’s Digital Strategy Department. “We believe that DPDzero is helping build a more efficient and responsible financial ecosystem.”
Blume Ventures, an existing backer, doubled down in this round. “When we first backed DPDzero, we bet on two relentless founders chasing an unsexy but massive problem,” said Sajith Pai, Partner at Blume Ventures. “Today, they’ve built a product lenders love, scaled revenues 6X, and are winning serious institutional trust.”