Sequoia and Greylock lead $50 Mn round in Aspora

Aspora, a cross-border financial technology company formerly known as Vance, has raised $50 million in a Series B funding round co-led by Sequoia and Greylock. The round saw participation from Hummingbird, Quantum Light Ventures, and Y Combinator.

According to Aspora, it has raised over $99 million in funding to date, and the current round values the company at $500 million.

This will be Sequoia’s first investment in Indian origin startup since its rebranding and restructuring in June 2023. The funding in Aspora will be routed through its US-based entity, Sequoia Capital. In India, it’s known as Peak XV Partners and has backed several startups since rebranding.

Aspora is a global fintech firm focused on cross-border money transfers for non-resident Indians (NRIs). The platform provides remittance services with Google exchange rates. It enables transfers from five countries, including the UK, UAE, and Germany, and claims to have processed over $2 billion, saving users more than Rs 150 crore ($17.5 million) in foreign exchange fees.

According to Aspora, it is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK and works with banks governed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Founded in 2022 by Parth Garg, Aspora was part of Y Combinator’s Winter 2022 batch and recently underwent a rebranding exercise. The company raised $5.8 million in its seed round led by Hummingbird Ventures with participation from Global Founders Capital, Y Combinator, Soma Capital and angels such as Alan Rutledge and Gokul Rajaram.