The seed funding round for the credit card and travel rewards network Scapia was headed by Matrix Partners India and brought in additional investment from Tanglin Venture Partners and Binny Bansal’s 3STATE Ventures. Scapia raised a total of $9 million.
This is the second time that Matrix, Tanglin, and 3STATE have placed a bet on the new endeavour that Anil Goteti is working on. He was formerly the Senior Vice President of Flipkart. The three investors had already put money into Goteti’s first startup, Protonn, but the firm went out of business less than a year after it had raised money.
Angel investors, like Keki Mistry, Chief Executive Officer of HDFC Ltd., were also a part of Scapia’s first round of funding.
Goteti, an experienced consumer technology entrepreneur, will utilise the funds to grow operations and invest in IT skills for the newly founded firm he is leading.
The Bengaluru-based business collaborated with the Federal Bank to introduce a new kind of digital credit card that has a co-branded design and is targeted towards customers who often travel. Customers can keep track of their credit card usage using a company-developed app, which also gives out virtual coins for each purchase. These coins may be exchanged for in-app hotel and travel bookings.
Scapia generates money via its co-branded collaboration with the Federal Bank and through fees from partner brands on reservations, the exact amount of which is dependent on the revenue-sharing arrangement.
“We’re excited about backing Anil for the second time, as he embarks on a new journey with the Scapia team. Scapia has created one such user journey, enabling new travel experiences through a fintech suite of products, and a business model traversing both these sectors,” said Vikram Vaidyanathan, Managing Partner of Matrix India.
“We see a massive opportunity for Scapia—less than 5% of the population currently have credit cards and India is projected to have 200 million credit cards in circulation by 2030,” Vaidyanathan added.
