Tala, a company that provides personalized financial services, on Wednesday reported that it raised $110 million in Series D funding round. The company uses data science and mobile technology to provide services like instant credit scoring and money lending.
This round was lead by RPS Ventures, with participation from GGV Capital. Also, previous investors including IVP, Revolution Growth, Lowercase Capital, Data Collective VC, ThomVest Ventures and PayPal Ventures participated in this funding round.
Tala has raised an additional $100 million in debt including a $50 million facility. This facility is led by Colchis Capital and is its first debt facility outside the US and the UK. In October 2018, PayPal made a strategic investment in the startup of an undisclosed amount.
Tala reported that its core credit businesses have tripled within a year. The company lent over $1 billion to more than four million customers across three continents and all through its mobile app. Through the app, the company lends from $10 to $500 even to customers who have no previous credit history.
Tala uses digital infrastructure and technologies which monitor device and behavioral data through the app to instantly underwrite and disburse loans. This makes the process much simpler than traditional banks which also require the customers to provide their credit history. Most of the customers receive a loan within ten minutes, due to the company’s reliance on mobile technologies and data science.
The company is based in Santa Monica, California and it offers its services in countries including Kenya, Mexico, the Philippines, India, and the United States. Kabir Misra, Founding General Partner at RPS Ventures, joined Tala’s Board of Directors as a part of the Series D round.
The company competes with the likes of Credit.com, Credit Karma, and Credit Sesame. Also, many mobile wallets, too, have started lending small loans to consumers (like PayTM and MobiKwik, in India, provide small credit to registered customers).
“We’ll use this funding to advance our mission by expanding in India and other markets, launching new products on the Tala platform, and scaling our world-class team across our offices in Kenya, Mexico, the Philippines, India, and the United States,” Tala said in a press release.
