Jupiter snags exclusivity rights from Tiger Global as it closes $86 mn funding

This is only the second time in India when Tiger Global, the New York-based fund, has agreed to an exclusivity clause like this after a similar move earlier this year when it backed social network platform ShareChat. This comes as aggressive investors like Tiger Global and others, at times, take multiple bets in one sector and double down only on the winning horse amid record capital being pumped in the ecosystem.

ET reported last week saying $36 billion was invested in Indian startups. Tiger Global, one of the most fervent backers of local startups, has taken multiple bets on one sector recently. For example, it is an investor in multiple startups in the online investment and brokerage space having backed Groww, Upstox and INDMoney.

“Tiger Global has agreed to the terms of not investing in any direct rival in this space as long as they are invested in Jupiter,” a person aware of the matter said. A second source aware of the matter said Jupiter had sought this in the ongoing funding talks where Sequoia and QED Investors were ready to co-lead the new round. “Founders like Gupta, with previous startup experience, will command this premium (exclusivity) and this could be something that may occur in other startups as well but not everyone,” this person added.

Jupiter competes with startups like Falcon Edge and B Capital-backed Fi, Niyo and others.

Regulatory filings, sourced from business intelligence platform Tofler, showed, Jupiter has raised close to $86 million in new funding round. QED Investors, Sequoia Capital India and Tiger Global have co-led the new round, after which the company’s valuation has more than doubled to $711 million.

Jupter’s Gupta confirmed the new funding round and the valuation but declined to comment on Tiger’s exclusivity clause as part of the terms. An email sent to Tiger Global did not elicit any response till press time Monday. ET first reported about the potential funding last month.

Besides the above-mentioned investors, existing investors like Matrix Partners India, Nubank have also participated in this round. Japan’s largest bank MUFG Bank has also joined the financing as a new investor. Other existing investors like 3one4 Capital and Mirae Asset have also participated in the round, according to regulatory filings.

The new funding round, which comes in less than six months since it raised $45 million in August, indicates the growing interest in consumer neobanking startups who partner with banks and offer new-age banking and financial solutions to consumers.

Jupiter’s beta was released in June this year and it saw more than 1.5 lakh requests from users for early access within the first two weeks of launch. Gupta-led Jupiter, last month, said it is expecting to onboard one million users by the end of this year as it allowed new users to join based on a referral from existing users. Jupiter has partnered with Federal Bank and Visa to issue zero-balance savings accounts and debit cards.