Friday, March 29

FreeCharge Co-founder Kunal Shah raises $30 Mn via Sequoia Capital

Kunal Shah, Co-founder of Payment company Freecharge has successfully raised $30 million from a group of investors led by led by venture capital investor Sequoia Capital, as reported by the sources.

Kunal is starting a new incubator that would be dedicated to helping startups in consumer space.

One of the sources on request of anonymity said,

The funding round has been closed and Kunal has raised over $30 Million to start his new venture that will be launched very soon. He has raised funds mostly from foreign investors. Sequoia has also invested in his new venture.

Sequoia the leader in the investment round has been associated with Kunal for quite some time. In February 2017, Kunal joined marquee venture capital firm Sequoia Capital as an advisory role, which came to an end this January.

FreeCharge, on the other hand, was started in 2010 by Kunal Shah and Sandeep Tandon. The digital mobile platform was acquired by Snapdeal in April 2015 which at the time was touted as one of the largest deal of Indian ecosystem. However, later Axis Bank acquired the company from Snapdeal for Rs. Rs385 crore in an all-cash deal.

Notably, the digital wallet company has secured various funding of more than $120 million from various investors including ru-Net, Sofina Capital, Sequoia Capital and Tyborne Capital Management.

When prompted to ask about the recent development, Kunal said, “I am dabbling with multiple ideas and have nothing concrete to talk about at this time.”

On the other hand, an email sent to Sequoia capital remain answered.

Kunal has also been quite active in angel industry besides being an entrepreneur. He has made significant investments in a number of startups such as car marketplace Spinny, Education platform Unacademy, Bharat Bazaar.

Besides, Kunal has also served as an advisor in a US-based online platform called AngelList. He is also an advisor to the board of Bennett Coleman and Co. Ltd (Times Group), according to his LinkedIn profile.