Fintech startup Pelocal secures $5 Mn in Series A funding

Fintech company Pelocal has raised  $5 million in Series A funding round led by UNLEASH Capital Partners and Unicorn India Ventures, with participation from prominent angel investors.

The Noida-based company had previously raised $2 million in its seed round in October 2024, led by Unicorn India Ventures.

The fresh funds will be utilized to accelerate product development, expand existing use cases, and push go-to-market efforts, Pelocal said in a press release.

Co-founded in 2021 by Vivekanand Tripathi and Vikas Garg, Pelocal’s AI-powered payments orchestration platform enables large enterprises to acquire, engage, and collect from customers seamlessly within WhatsApp. This OTT chat platform serves over 700 million active users in India. It powers use cases such as ticketing, collections, customer acquisition, and servicing by embedding payments directly into WhatsApp conversations. It is also building tech infra products for BFSI enterprises. 

“Our vision is to bring last-mile payments to the masses via WhatsApp by leveraging AI and advanced technologies. This fundraise enables us to execute that mission, and we’re thrilled to have the support of investors who share our conviction,” said Vivekanand Tripathi, Founder & CEO, Pelocal.

Pelocal asserts that it currently serves over 40 large enterprises across BFSI, transit, and utilities, delivering services to more than 5 million unique users monthly. Since its last funding round, the startup has achieved a 6x growth in total payment value and now operates at an annualised payment run rate exceeding $500 million.

The Company is aiming for an ARR of $10 million over the next 18–24 months.