Abound, a remittance app that was spun off by Times Internet in 2023, has raised $14 million in its first exterior funding spherical because it goals to succeed in extra Indian expats within the U.S.
Remittance flows to India are rising because the Indian diaspora spreads worldwide. In 2024, the South Asian nation recorded $129.1 billion in remittances, accounting for 14.3% share of the worldwide market and topping the charts, in response to a World Bank report. Abound goals to faucet this progress with its cellular app.
“Indians are among the largest immigrant groups in the U.S. The average household income in the U.S. is close to $58,000, and the average Indian household income is about $150,000. That tells you that Indian expats are wealthy, affluent, and yet they’re vastly underserved in terms of products and services that are geared for them,” stated Nishkaam Mehta, CEO of Abound, in an interview.
Mehta, who labored at Hulu as head of its cellular technique and progress for greater than 4 years, joined Times Internet in 2019 after assembly its vice chairman Satyan Gajwani to create a “super app” for non-resident Indians. The startup was incubated on the tech arm of Indian media conglomerate, The Times of India Group.
Initially named Times Club, Abound permits customers to ship cash to India, earn rewards, and get cashback on providers together with stay sports activities streaming, grocery buying, and OTT subscriptions. The agency has plans to discover avenues to let customers entry high-yield financial savings, India-focused investments, and cross-border credit score options.
“In our model as a super app, we envision a role for banks themselves to be a part of the platform,” Mehta advised TechCrunch.
The firm claims it has processed over $150 million in remittances in complete from its greater than 500,000 month-to-month transacting customers, and that its income has elevated by 50% month-over-month since launch.
Abound’s remittance quantity elevated by 15% each month and the startup processed $110 million to $120 million prior to now 12 months, Mehta stated.
Abound generates advert income from rewards and overseas trade unfold on cash remittances. Foreign trade presents important potential for progress, Mehta acknowledged. The startup stated The Times of India’s over 50 million month-to-month on-line guests exterior India additionally assist it attain new customers and supply a spread of rewards.
“In money remittances, if you purely play the exchange rate game, then you’re always acquiring the user,” stated Mehta. “In our case, because we’ve got this rewards layer from the Times of India and other local advertisers, we don’t have that problem. We can always compete on exchange rates, knowing that we don’t have the same customer acquisition cost that the other companies might have.”
This seed spherical was all-equity, and was led by NEAR Foundation, with participation from Circle Ventures, Times Internet, and different buyers. The firm plans to make use of the recent money to develop its presence, improve its choices and enhance its tech infrastructure.
“Traditional banks in the U.S. don’t focus on the financial requirements of this segment because there is no banking product built just for the NRI population. We see that as a large gap and opportunity,” stated Gajwani.
Following the deal, Times Internet will proceed to be the biggest stakeholder in Abound. Gajwani advised TechCrunch the Times Internet could be “using its strategic assets to help accelerate Abound’s growth.”
The market of platforms enabling overseas remittances is crowded with incumbents corresponding to Western Union, PayPal and MoneyGram, in addition to newer gamers like Remitly and Wise. But Mehta thinks Abound has an edge because it “super serves” customers by providing aggressive trade charges in addition to rewards and cashback at about 5,000 Indian grocery shops and entry to live-streamed cricket — by far the most well-liked sport in India.
Abound presently has a crew of 40 individuals, based totally in India. It plans to develop its…
