Dreamplug Technologies Pvt. Ltd. d/b/a CRED is an Indian fintech company, based in Bangalore.[2][3][4] Founded in 2018 by Kunal Shah,[5][6] it is a reward-based credit card payments app.[7] Cred also lets users make house rent payments[8] and provides short-term credit lines.[9] Cred has received criticism for being overvalued and lacking a sound monetization strategy.[10][11]
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CRED | |
Company type | Private |
Industry |
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Founded | 2018 |
Founder | Kunal Shah (Co-founder & CEO) |
Headquarters | Bangalore, Karnataka, India |
Revenue | ![]() |
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Number of employees | 800 |
Website | cred |
History
editCred was founded in 2018 by Kunal Shah. By 2021, the company had onboarded over 5.9 million users and processed about 20% of all credit card bill payments in India.[12]
Funding and financial results
editFunding
editCred raised funding from DST Global,[13] Sequoia Capital (India),[14][15] and Tiger Global,[16] among other investors, through the four rounds of private funding so far.[17] Cred posted losses of ₹360.31 crore in the 2020 fiscal year (FY20),[18] caused primarily due to high expenditure on marketing and advertising.[19]
In October 2021, Cred started to seek new investors, reporting a $5.5 billion valuation, up from $2.2 billion recorded in April 2021.[20][21]
Kunal Shah is also an investor in an AI led adtech influencer marketing platform Kofluence. The company had raised a pre-series funding of $4 Million as of 8 February 2022.[22]
In June 2022, CRED raised $80 million in a Series F funding round led by Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, GIC. The Series F funding round will value the company at around $6.4 billion.[23]
Investor | Transaction Name | Fund Raised[24] | Valuation |
---|---|---|---|
Sequoia Capital India | Seed | $30M | Not Revealed |
Sequoia Capital, RTP Ventures, and 25 others | Series A | $636K | |
Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, and seven others | Series B | $120M | $450 Million |
DST Global, Tiger Global Management, and seven others | Series C | $81M | $806 Million |
Coatue, Insight Partners, and nine others | Series D | $215M | $2.2 Billion |
Tiger Global Management, Marshall Wace, and eight others | Series E | $251M | $4.01 Billion |
GIC Singapore, Tiger Global Management, and three others | Series F | $80M | $6.4 Billion |
Marketing
editCred became the official sponsor for the Indian Premier League for four years from 2020 to 2023.[25] In 2021, Cred's advertising content and videos, made in-house featuring Indian celebrities,[26][27][28] generated significant discourse in news and social media[29][30][31][32] due to its peculiarity, which was both criticized[33] and praised.[34]
Acquisitions
editIn 2021, Cred acquired expense management startup Happay in December and a liquor delivery startup HipBar.[35]
In December 2022, Cred acquired a 100% stake in CreditVidya that offers lending as a service. This is to allow Cred to expand its customer base and ecosystem as CreditVidya, which caters to customers who do not have a credit score.[35]
In July 2023, Cred acquired savings and investment platform Spenny and expanded in the lending and wealthtech space further.[36]
In February 2024, Cred acquired online wealth management startup Kuvera for an undisclosed amount. With this acquisition, Cred entered into the mutual funds market.[37]
References
edit- ^ a b "Cred revenue grows 3.5x to Rs 1,400 crore, losses widen 5% to Rs 1,347 crore in FY23". Moneycontrol. 5 October 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
- ^ "Kunal Shah's CRED raises $215 million to be India's latest unicorn with a valuation of $2.2 billion". Business Insider. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
- ^ "Kunal Shah's Cred turns unicorn in less than three years; valuation slingshots nearly 3X to $2.2 billion". The Financial Express. 6 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
- ^ "Cred valued at $2.2 billion with new round, Kunal Shah says 'conscious call' to not monetise in first 2 years". cnbctv18.com. 6 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
- ^ Patwa, Prasannata (26 November 2018). "Cred to launch product for credit card users". mint. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ^ Gooptu, Biswarup; Sharma, Samidha. "Kunal Shah: FreeCharge's Kunal Shah is back with Fintech firm Cred". The Economic Times. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ^ Bajaj, Karan. "Cred review: Makes credit card bill payments easier, rewards for timely transaction". The Economic Times. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ^ "How to pay house rent online with your credit card using CRED app". www.timesnownews.com. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ^ Staff (20 April 2020). "Cred Rentpay, Stash services launched in India". BGR India. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ^ Dalal, Mihir (4 February 2021). "Forgive us for asking, but what's Cred's business model?". mint. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
- ^ "Worth $806 mn, Cred's Rs 52-lakh revenue sparks valuation, business model debate". cnbctv18.com. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
- ^ Dalal, Mihir (5 January 2021). "Cred raises $81 million, announces Esop buyback worth $1.2 million". The Economic Times. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
- ^ "Cred raises $80 million in a funding round led by DST Global, valuation now up at $800 million". Firstpost. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
- ^ "VC firm Sequoia Capital closes second seed fund at $195 million to back startups in India, Southeast Asia". The Financial Express. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
- ^ Srikanth, Chandra R (6 April 2021). "Cred Turns Unicorn, Raises $215 Million At A Valuation Of $2.2 Billion". Moneycontrol. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
- ^ "Kunal Shah's Cred Raises $120 Mn Series B Funding From Ribbit, Tiger Global And Others". Inc42 Media. 26 August 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
- ^ "India's CRED in talks to raise $200 million at $2 billion valuation". TechCrunch. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
- ^ Vardhan, Jai; Tyagi, Gaurav (6 February 2021). "Kunal Shah's CRED spent Rs 727 to earn a rupee in FY20". Entrackr. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ^ "Big Spender CRED Banks On Rent Payments, Credit Lines For Revenue". BloombergQuint. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ^ Singh, Manesh (11 October 2021). "Indian fintech CRED seeks funds at $5.5 billion valuation". TechCrunch. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
- ^ Manikandan, Ashwin. "Cred's valuation soars to $2.2 billion after fresh funding". The Economic Times. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ^ "Influencer Marketing Startup Kofluence Bags $4 Mn From Kunal Shah, Karan Johar". 8 February 2022.
- ^ Jose, Teena. "CRED Raises $80 Million In Series F Funding". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ^ "Exclusive: CRED in talks to raise funding, eyes $6.5 bn valuation". Moneycontrol. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
- ^ "After Unacademy, Cred Joins IPL 2020 As Official Partner". Inc42 Media. 2 September 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ^ www.ETBrandEquity.com. "CRED launches 90s inspired multi-film campaign featuring Anil Kapoor – ET BrandEquity". ETBrandEquity.com. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ^ Bhatt, Shephali. "Who made Bappi Da sing love ballads for credit cards?". The Economic Times. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ^ Misra, Shubhangi (1 November 2020). "With Bappi Lahiri to Govinda, India's ad industry is laughing at itself. Not everyone gets why". ThePrint. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ^ "Is self-ridicule the new ad formula?". Deccan Herald. 7 November 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ^ "Govinda's New CRED Ad: Here's Why the Dancing Superstar Said Yes". Latest Odisha News, Breaking News Today | Top Updates on Corona – OTV News. 29 October 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ^ www.ETBrandEquity.com. "Jim Sarbh engages with audience in Cred's new ad film – ET BrandEquity". ETBrandEquity.com. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ^ "CRED in the Indian Premier League (IPL): sixer or hit wicket?". The Ken. 14 October 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ^ www.ETBrandEquity.com. "Opinion: First you pay them, then you mock them? – ET BrandEquity". ETBrandEquity.com. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ^ "CRED… not everyone gets it: A copywriter's take". afaqs!. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ^ a b "Cred to acquire lending-as-a-service firm CreditVidya". mint. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ^ "CRED acquihires savings platform Spenny". Moneycontrol. 23 June 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ^ Banthia, Jyoti (6 February 2024). "CRED to acquire Kuvera for undisclosed amount". BusinessLine. Retrieved 28 February 2024.