India BNPL start-up Uni gets $70m Series A
General Catalyst has led a $70 million Series A round for Uni, an Indian buy now, pay later (BNPL) start-up that launched its flagship product just six months ago.
The company was founded by former executives from PayU and Ola Financial Services in mid-2020. It raised a $18.5 million seed round later that year, and launched operations last June. Its core product, a BNPL card called Pay 1/3rd, has been used in 50 cities and is said to be growing its user base by 50% month-on-month.
Pay 1/3rd is touted as India’s first pay-later card that automatically splits every transaction into thirds, allowing consumers to spread repayments across three parts over three months for no extra charges. It also offers 1% rewards in the form of cashback to consumers who repay in full after a one-month interest-free credit period.
The idea is to solve for short-term liquidity without consumers being burdened by high-interest rates and fees. Monthly disbursals are currently tracking at INR1.7 billion ($23 million) and the goal is to reach INR15 billion in the next 18 months. The company expects to expand its geographic footprint to 50 cities in the next quarter.
The Series A was supported by Eight Roads India, Elevation Capital, Arbor Ventures, Lightspeed India Partners, and Accel Partners. Lightspeed and Accel also joined the seed round in 2020.
Elevation, previously known as SAIF Partners India, invested via its fourth flagship fund, styled as Fund VII, which closed at $400 million last year. Arbor invested via its second fund, which raised $178.5 million in 2018, while Lightspeed participated via its third India fund, which closed on $275 million last year.
“The Indian credit market is ripe for explosion and there is vast room for innovation,” Nitin Gupta, c-founder and CEO of Uni, said in a statement.
“BNPL is growing at a breakneck speed in India and within BNPL we are seeing that the biggest potential lies in the Pay1/3rd category and we are leading this space with our innovative product and customer experience.”
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