Slice hits unicorn status with $220m Series B funding round

Bangalore-based card-issuing firm Slice has raised $220 million in a Series B funding round.

Slice was founded in 2015 by Rajan Bajaj

Slice says the new capital sees the firm join “India’s unicorn club” with a valuation over $1 billion.

The round was co-led by Tiger Global and Insight Partners. Also participating were Sunley House Capital, Moore Strategic Ventures and Anfa, as well as existing investors Gunosy, Blume Ventures and 8i.

Slice issues cards via an app primarily aimed at Millennials and claims around 5 million registered members. It says it is issuing over 200,000 cards each month.

It offers up to 2% cashback on every transaction and members have the option to convert monthly bill payments into three instalments. It also provides access to discounts on purchases with certain brands.

Slice says the cash injection will be used to further develop its product offerings and hire more staff.

The company was set up in 2015 by Rajan Bajaj and has gone through different iterations and brands. It began as a rental start-up, Mesh, then morphed into Buddy, with a buy now, pay later (BNPL) focus, before pivoting into card issuing in 2019, albeit still with a BNPL aspect to its offering.

In June last year it raised $6.07 million in a pre-Series B. 12 months later it raised another $20 million before this latest round.