Cred (company) explained

Dreamplug Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
Logo Alt:Cred Logo
Trading Name:CRED
Type:Private
Founder:Kunal Shah
Hq Location:Bangalore, Karnataka
Hq Location Country:India
Revenue: (FY24)[1]
Net Income: (FY23)
Num Employees:800

Dreamplug Technologies Pvt. Ltd. d/b/a CRED is an Indian fintech company, based in Bangalore.[2] [3] [4] Founded in 2018 by Kunal Shah,[5] [6] it is a reward-based credit card payments app.[7] CRED also allows users to make house rent payments[8] and provides short-term credit lines.[9]

As of 2024, the company is valued at around $6.4 billion.[10]

History

Cred was started in 2018 by Kunal Shah. By 2021, the company had grown to 5.9 million users. It became a popular platform for credit card users in India, handling around 20% of all credit card bill payments in the country.[11]

Funding and financial results

Funding

Cred raised funding from DST Global,[12] Sequoia Capital (India),[13] [14] and Tiger Global,[15] among other investors, through the four rounds of private funding so far.[16] Cred posted losses of ₹360.31 crore in the 2020 fiscal year (FY20),[17] caused primarily due to high expenditure on marketing and advertising.[18]

In October 2021, Cred started to seek new investors, reporting a $5.5 billion valuation, up from $2.2 billion recorded in April 2021.[19] [20]

Kunal Shah is also an investor in an AI led adtech influencer marketing platform Kofluence. The company had raised a pre-series funding of $4 Million as of 8 February 2022.[21]

In June 2022, CRED raised $80 million in a Series F funding round led by Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, GIC. The Series F funding round will value the company at around $6.4 billion.[22]

InvestorTransaction NameFund Raised[23] Valuation
Sequoia Capital IndiaSeed$30MNot Revealed
Sequoia Capital, RTP Ventures, and 25 othersSeries A$636K
Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, and seven othersSeries B$120M $450 Million
DST Global, Tiger Global Management, and seven othersSeries C$81M $806 Million
Coatue, Insight Partners, and nine othersSeries D$215M $2.2 Billion
Tiger Global Management, Marshall Wace, and eight othersSeries E$251M $4.01 Billion
GIC Singapore, Tiger Global Management, and three othersSeries F$80M $6.4 Billion

Marketing and reception

Cred became the official sponsor for the Indian Premier League for four years from 2020 to 2023.[24] In 2021, Cred's advertising content and videos, made in-house featuring Indian celebrities,[25] [26] [27] generated significant discourse in news and social media[28] [29] [30] [31] due to its peculiarity, which was both criticized[32] and praised.[33] Cred has received criticism for being overvalued and lacking a sound monetization strategy.[34] [35]

Mergers and acquisitions

In 2021, Cred acquired expense management startup Happay in December and a liquor delivery startup HipBar.[36] In November 2024, the company sold Happay to MakeMyTrip for an undisclosed amount.[37]

In December 2022, Cred acquired a 100% stake in CreditVidya that offers lending as a service. This is to allow Cred to expand its customer base and ecosystem as CreditVidya, which caters to customers who do not have a credit score.

In July 2023, Cred acquired savings and investment platform Spenny and expanded in the lending and wealthtech space further.[38]

In February 2024, Cred acquired online wealth management startup Kuvera for an undisclosed amount. With this acquisition, Cred entered into the mutual funds market.[39]

Notes and References

  1. News: CRED nears Rs 2,500 Cr revenue in FY24; cuts operating losses by 41%. EnTrackr . 30 September 2024 . en.
  2. Web site: Kunal Shah's CRED raises $215 million to be India's latest unicorn with a valuation of $2.2 billion. 2021-04-10. Business Insider.
  3. Web site: 2021-04-06. Kunal Shah's Cred turns unicorn in less than three years; valuation slingshots nearly 3X to $2.2 billion. 2021-04-10. The Financial Express. en-US.
  4. Web site: Cred valued at $2.2 billion with new round, Kunal Shah says 'conscious call' to not monetise in first 2 years. 2021-04-10. cnbctv18.com. 6 April 2021 . en-US.
  5. Web site: Patwa. Prasannata. 2018-11-26. Cred to launch product for credit card users. 2021-04-11. mint. en.
  6. News: Gooptu. Biswarup. Sharma. Samidha. Kunal Shah: FreeCharge's Kunal Shah is back with Fintech firm Cred. The Economic Times. 2021-04-11.
  7. News: Bajaj. Karan. Cred review: Makes credit card bill payments easier, rewards for timely transaction. The Economic Times. 2021-04-11.
  8. Web site: How to pay house rent online with your credit card using CRED app. 2021-04-11. www.timesnownews.com. 11 June 2020 . en.
  9. Web site: Staff. 2020-04-20. Cred Rentpay, Stash services launched in India. 2021-04-11. BGR India. en-US.
  10. Web site: Singh . Manish . 2022-06-09 . India's CRED valued at $6.4 billion in new funding . 2024-11-10 . TechCrunch . en-US.
  11. News: Dalal. Mihir. 5 January 2021. Cred raises $81 million, announces Esop buyback worth $1.2 million. 30 April 2021. The Economic Times.
  12. Web site: 2020-12-02. Cred raises $80 million in a funding round led by DST Global, valuation now up at $800 million . 2021-04-10. Firstpost.
  13. Web site: 2021-03-25. VC firm Sequoia Capital closes second seed fund at $195 million to back startups in India, Southeast Asia. 2021-04-10. The Financial Express. en-US.
  14. Web site: Cred Turns Unicorn, Raises $215 Million At A Valuation Of $2.2 Billion. 2022-11-26. Moneycontrol. Chandra R. Srikanth. 6 April 2021.
  15. Web site: 2019-08-26. Kunal Shah's Cred Raises $120 Mn Series B Funding From Ribbit, Tiger Global And Others. 2021-04-10. Inc42 Media. en-US.
  16. Web site: India's CRED in talks to raise $200 million at $2 billion valuation. 2021-04-10. TechCrunch. en-US.
  17. Web site: Vardhan. Jai. Tyagi. Gaurav. 2021-02-06. Kunal Shah's CRED spent Rs 727 to earn a rupee in FY20. 2021-04-11. Entrackr. en-US.
  18. Web site: Big Spender CRED Banks On Rent Payments, Credit Lines For Revenue. 2021-04-11. BloombergQuint. en.
  19. News: Singh . Manesh . Indian fintech CRED seeks funds at $5.5 billion valuation . TechCrunch . 2021-10-11 . 2021-10-11.
  20. News: Manikandan. Ashwin. Cred's valuation soars to $2.2 billion after fresh funding. The Economic Times. 2021-04-11.
  21. Web site: Influencer Marketing Startup Kofluence Bags $4 Mn From Kunal Shah, Karan Johar. 8 February 2022.
  22. Web site: Jose . Teena . CRED Raises $80 Million In Series F Funding . 2022-06-14 . Entrepreneur . en.
  23. Web site: Exclusive: CRED in talks to raise funding, eyes $6.5 bn valuation . 2022-02-28 . Moneycontrol . en.
  24. Web site: 2020-09-02. After Unacademy, Cred Joins IPL 2020 As Official Partner. 2021-04-11. Inc42 Media. en-US.
  25. Web site: www.ETBrandEquity.com. CRED launches 90s inspired multi-film campaign featuring Anil Kapoor – ET BrandEquity. 2021-04-11. ETBrandEquity.com. en.
  26. News: Bhatt. Shephali. Who made Bappi Da sing love ballads for credit cards?. The Economic Times. 2021-04-11.
  27. Web site: Misra. Shubhangi. 2020-11-01. With Bappi Lahiri to Govinda, India's ad industry is laughing at itself. Not everyone gets why. 2021-04-11. ThePrint. en-US.
  28. Web site: 2020-11-07. Is self-ridicule the new ad formula?. 2021-04-11. Deccan Herald. en.
  29. Web site: 2020-10-29. Govinda's New CRED Ad: Here's Why the Dancing Superstar Said Yes. 2021-04-11. Latest Odisha News, Breaking News Today Top Updates on Corona – OTV News. en-US.
  30. Web site: www.ETBrandEquity.com. Jim Sarbh engages with audience in Cred's new ad film – ET BrandEquity. 2021-04-11. ETBrandEquity.com. en.
  31. Web site: 2020-10-14. CRED in the Indian Premier League (IPL): sixer or hit wicket?. 2021-04-11. The Ken. en-US.
  32. Web site: www.ETBrandEquity.com. Opinion: First you pay them, then you mock them? – ET BrandEquity. 2021-04-11. ETBrandEquity.com. en.
  33. Web site: CRED… not everyone gets it: A copywriter's take. 2021-04-11. afaqs!.
  34. Web site: Dalal . Mihir . 2021-02-04 . Forgive us for asking, but what's Cred's business model? . 2021-04-10 . mint . en.
  35. Web site: Worth $806 mn, Cred's Rs 52-lakh revenue sparks valuation, business model debate . 2021-04-10 . cnbctv18.com . en-US.
  36. Web site: 2022-11-29 . Cred to acquire lending-as-a-service firm CreditVidya . 2024-02-28 . mint . en.
  37. News: Shekhar . Roshni . 18 November 2024 . MakeMyTrip to acquire Happay's expense management platform from CRED . 22 November 2024 . Business Standard.
  38. Web site: 2023-06-23 . CRED acquihires savings platform Spenny . 2024-02-28 . Moneycontrol . en.
  39. Web site: Banthia . Jyoti . 2024-02-06 . CRED to acquire Kuvera for undisclosed amount . 2024-02-28 . BusinessLine . en.

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