Tiger Global pumps enough money to make BharatPe a unicorn about a month after it got a banking licence with Centrum as its partner

• This is an almost three-fold increase from the $900 million valuation accorded to the company in February 2021.
• Tiger Global led the round, with participation of Dragoneer Investment Group and Steadfast Capital.
• The company will use this recent fundraise to capitalise distressed PMC Bank, which it recently acquired.
• Group President Suhail Sameer becomes the CEO as founder Ashneer Grover takes charge as Managing Director.
• Check out the latest news and updates on Business Insider.

BharatPe, which sells point-of-sale machines and payment solutions to small shopkeepers, is the latest entrant to the unicorn club. The three-year-old startup raised $370 million in a Series E round led by Tiger Global, at a valuation of a whopping $2.85 billion.

This is an almost three-fold increase from the $900 million valuation the company was accorded in the $108 million Series D round in February 2021.

A unicorn, in startup parlance, is a private company valued at or over $1 billion.

BharatPe has partnered with Centrum Finance and bagged a banking licence from the Reserve Bank of India in June 2021, by acquiring PMC Bank. The latest investment will allow BharatPe to provide its share of capital to revive the cooperative bank that was on the verge of a collapse last year.

There has also been a reshuffle in BharatPe’s management. Founder Ashneer Grover would be stepping down from his role of CEO to take on the role and responsibilities of a managing director. Meanwhile, former Group President Suhail Sameer would be the new chief executive officer (CEO) and board member of the company.

Sameer will be responsible for driving the company’s monetization, lending and recent banking foray. Meanwhile,Grover will drive its strategy, technology and product functions, and manage capital fundraising.

BharatPe’s latest Series E funding round also witnessed the participation of new investors Dragoneer Investment Group and Steadfast Capital, along with existing investors Sequoia Capital, Insight Partners, Coatue Management, Ribbit Capital and Amplo.