Akudo Raises $4.2M Seed Round From Y Combinator

Akudo, a learning-focused neobank for Teenagers in India, today announced that it has raised $4.2M in their seed round led by Y Combinator, JAFCO Asia, Incubate Fund India, and AET Fund. The round also saw participation from Tribe Capital, Cabra Capital, and marquee angels like Lalit Keshre (Co-founder Groww), Rohit Taneja (Co-Founder Decentro), Anup Singh (Ex Axis Bank, ICICI Bank), Romeen Sheth (Metasys), Sriram Krishnan (Ex Spotify, Tinder), Mohit Daga and more. 

The young startup aims to utilize the funds to expand its team & further refine its product offering to reach millions of financially under-prepared and under-served teenagers in India. Currently, the startup has over 1 lakh registered customers and has recorded a 75% week-on-week growth in transaction volumes. The start-up has also issued 25,000 + cards delivered across 360+ cities across India. 

Commenting on this, Lavika Aggarwal, Co-Founder, Akudo, said, “We are deeply grateful to have such experienced and established investors join our journey as we craft India’s first learningfocused neobank for teenagers. This capital will help us hire the right team and build in-app intelligence and features which will make financial learning more enjoyable for teenagers. We want every teenager to own their Akudo card as soon as they turn 13 and learn crucial lessons early on. Akudo is also bound to positively impact families of teens who will undertake their first step towards financial literacy and ultimately towards true financial empowerment.” 

Supriya Singh, Head of South Asia investments, JAFCO Asia, said, “Personal finance for young users has largely been unaddressed. This is the right time to do it and Akudo is the most responsible and thoughtful go-to product for the young users to understand nuances of spending and saving. Lavika and Sajal are just the right guys with the perfect mix of technical expertise and the understanding of the user group”