CheQ Secures Fresh Funding in Extended Seed Round
CheQ, a Bengaluru-based company that provides credit management solutions for individual consumers, has successfully closed an extended seed funding round, raising ₹35 crore (approximately $4.2 million). This comes after an 18-month hiatus in the company’s funding activities.
Investment Breakdown and Future Plans
The funding round saw participation from both new and existing investors. Key contributors include 3one4 Capital (₹12.49 crore), Venture Highway Fund (₹6.24 crore), and Multiply Ventures (₹2.08 crore). A group of individual investors, including Lloyd Dizon Balajadia, Madhav Prakash Sehth, Vishal Gupta, and Deepk Tuli, collectively contributed ₹14.2 crore.
CheQ plans to utilize the newly acquired funds to fuel its growth, expand its operations, and implement strategic marketing initiatives. The company’s board will have the final say on the allocation of funds for various corporate purposes.
Investor Stake and Company Valuation
Following this funding round, 3one4 Capital holds the largest stake in CheQ at 10.95%. Venture Highway Fund and Multiply Ventures hold 11.45% and 2.49% ownership, respectively. It’s important to note that these figures exclude employee stock options and potential adjustments based on the company’s overall cap table (including the ESOP pool).
Startup data platform TheKredible estimates CheQ’s post-money valuation to be around ₹451 crore ($55 million).
About CheQ: Simplifying Credit Management
Founded in 2022 by Aditya Soni, CheQ aims to simplify credit management for its customers. Their platform offers a one-stop solution for discovering and managing various credit products, enabling users to pay credit card bills and EMIs effortlessly.
Financial Performance and Competitive Landscape
Despite being a pre-revenue company with only ₹2 crore in revenue for the fiscal year ending March 2023, CheQ has managed to secure a significant amount of funding. On the other hand, the company has also reported losses of ₹19.4 crore during the same period.
CheQ faces competition from established players like CRED, a fintech unicorn that has raised around $1 billion and boasts a valuation of $6.4 billion. While CRED reported a revenue of ₹1,400 crore in FY23, they also incurred a loss of ₹1,347 crore during the same period.