FPL raises $10 Mn led by Matrix-Sequoia; valuation jumps over $50 Mn

Fintech startup First Principles Labs or FPL Technologies has scored $10 million in a Series A funding round led by its existing backers -- Matrix Partners and Sequoia Capital India. Hummingbird Ventures along with a few angel investors also joined the round. 

Matrix, Sequoia, and Hummingbird were the largest investors in the round with an equal investment of Rs 22.62 crore, shows the regulatory filings with MCA. The Sparkle Fund also poured Rs 1.62 crore. Among the angel investors, Manish Patel alone put in Rs 1.89 crore while co-founders Vaibhav Hathi, Anurag Sinha, and Rupesh Kumar -- have infused Rs 19.6 lakh each.

The startup has allotted 3703 equity shares and 426,189 Series A CCPS at Rs 1,592 per share to raise Rs 68.4 crore from the aforementioned investors. Additionally, it also allotted 43,660 equity shares to angel investors to raise Rs 6.95 crore. Collectively the round was closed at Rs 75.4 crore or nearly $10 million.

Following the allotment of shares, Matrix and Sequoia command 21.56% and 19.96% equity in the company whereas Hummingbird has acquired a 6.11% stake. Among the founders, Sinha has the largest holding in the company 23.72% followed by Kumar and Hathi with 11.67% and 7.8% stake respectively.

According to the company, OneCard, a mobile-first credit card is available across 12 cities including Mumbai, Delhi, NCR, and Bengaluru.

FPL offers first-time credit card users a virtual, cellphone-based card to build a credit score. The platform’s OneScore app, having over two million users, helps consumers check and monitor their credit score and credit report on a monthly basis.

As per Fintrackr’s estimate, FPL has been valued north of $51 million, registering a 4.3x jump as compared to its seed round valuation of nearly $11.5 million. 

In June 2019, Sequoia and Matrix led a $4.4 million seed round in the Pune-based startup. It would utilize the fresh proceeds to help the platform rapidly scale up its engineering and product teams to grow its newly launched product OneCard.

Post allotment of the seed round, FPL had allocated 189,421 equity shares for its employee stock option scheme or ESOPs, comprising an 8% stake in the company worth around Rs 30.15 crore or $4 million.