Consumer fintech startup Bright Money raises $12 million in funding from existing investors

As part of the funding, the consumer fintech startup has also raised $50 million in debt from speciality finance company Encina Lender Finance.

With the infusion, Bright Money will look to serve a larger set of millennial audiences, especially in the US.

Founded in 2019 by Petko Plachkov, Avi Patchava and Varun Modi, Bright Money offers financial tools that help consumers manage debt and get out of it, by leveraging data science.

Bright Money provides tools such as credit score building, automated debt paydown plans, financial planning, budget planning tools, and refinance loans for debt, helping users achieve financial freedom faster.

It works with debt involving credit cards, student and car loans.

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“The funding will be deployed towards building robust teams across product development, technology, analytics, and support functions like compliance and customer service,” said Plachkov, who is also the co-chief executive officer (co-CEO) of Bright Money. In September 2021, the company had raised $31 million from Peak XV (earlier Sequoia Capital India), Falcon Edge Capital and Hummingbird Ventures.

“At Bright Money, we have seen six-fold (6x) growth in the last year and now reach hundreds of thousands of users,” said Patchava, co-CEO of Bright Money.

Bright Money currently has over 180 employees, with a majority of the core product, tech, data, marketing and service teams based in India.

“Bright Money’s intelligent systems help create personalised payment plans along with working as a data-powered assistant in money management,” said Modi, the company’s chief technology officer (CTO).