Indian tax fintech Clear secures $75m to capitalise on country’s digitisation

Indian Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) fintech Clear has secured $75 million in a Series C funding round.

Clear CEO, Archit Gupta

The Bangalore-based firm, formerly known as ClearTax, saw investment from Stripe, Alua Capital, and Think Investments.

Several other existing investors participated, bringing Clear’s all-time raise to over $140 million.

The Series C fundraise values the 10-year-old start-up at over $700 million, TechCrunch reports.

The investment from Stripe follows the payment giant’s acquisition of Indian reconciliation software company Recko and underlines its investment and interest in the world’s second-largest internet market.

Clear says it can make it easier for people and businesses to file their tax returns. The firm has capitalised on the Indian government’s digital-first approach – the government made e-filing tax returns mandatory in 2006.

It also provides wealth management advice to individuals and helps businesses with e-invoicing and credit.

The cash raised will be used to continue to expand the company’s offerings aside from e-filing and to continue its international expansion. The firm says it already serves businesses in the Middle East and hopes to do the same for European businesses in the near future.

Clear has more than six million people and one million businesses on its platform.

Clear CEO, Archit Gupta, told TechCrunch: “India is on a massive digitisation journey and we are fortunate to be in the perfect storm.

“We are doubling down on our SaaS platform to help businesses with collateral free debt and payments. This funding also gives us fuel for our international expansion.”