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Amica Financial Technologies Receives Funding Worth $24 Million

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Team Startup CityAmica Financial Technologies, an upcoming digital retail bank founded by Citrus Pay co-founder Jitendra Gupta, has received $24 million in its first funding round. The funding is backed by a long list of institutional investors including Greyhound Capital, 3One4 Capital, Germany’s Rocket Internet, venture capital funds Matrix Partners and Sequoia Capital.

Gupta, a former PayU India managing director, is among a growing tribe of second-time entrepreneurs who have attracted big bucks from marquee investors even before officially launching their companies. The Mumbai-based startup, which Gupta co-founded along with Vishnu Jerome of law firm Jerome Merchant and Partners has
also brought on board a host of angel investors. These include Falcon Edge Capital's Navroz Udwadia, DST Global’s Rahul Mehta, Snapdeal co-founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, Kunal Shah of Cred, BookMyShow founder Ashish Hemrajani and Nubank founder David Velez.

Amica, still in stealth mode, is expected to be valued at $70 million, in one of the largest first funding rounds raised in the domestic market. Gupta confirmed that the funding round had closed, but declined to share details.

The venture will provide savings account, investments and lending services to the salaried millennial population with an income demographic of Rs 50,000 and upwards, in partnership with a large private bank, whose name has yet to be disclosed. It is yet unclear if the company will apply for a banking license on its own yet. Its business model will be based on UK-based digital mobile-only Monzo and Brazil's Nubank, termed neo banks.

It is formally expected to launch operations in February or March next year. Other institutional investors in the company include BeeNext and Tanglin Venture Partners, while Nitin Kamath, co-founder and CEO of Zerodha, Freecharge’s Sandeep Tandon; Anupam Mittal, CEO of People Group, and Manish Vij, co-founder of Smile Group, have also invested in their personal capacities.