Abound, a remittance app that was spun off by Occasions Web 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 Financial institution report. Abound goals to faucet this development with its cellular app.
“Indians are among the many largest immigrant teams within the U.S. The typical family revenue within the U.S. is near $58,000, and the common Indian family revenue is about $150,000. That tells you that Indian expats are rich, prosperous, and but they’re vastly underserved when it comes to services and products which 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 development for greater than 4 years, joined Occasions Web in 2019 after assembly its vice chairman Satyan Gajwani to create a “tremendous app” for non-resident Indians. The startup was incubated on the tech arm of Indian media conglomerate, The Occasions of India Group.
Initially named Occasions Membership, Abound permits customers to ship cash to India, earn rewards, and get cashback on providers together with dwell sports activities streaming, grocery purchasing, 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 mannequin as a brilliant app, we envision a task for banks themselves to be part of the platform,” Mehta instructed TechCrunch.
The corporate 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 international alternate unfold on cash remittances. Overseas alternate presents important potential for development, Mehta said. The startup stated The Occasions of India’s over 50 million month-to-month on-line guests exterior India additionally assist it attain new customers and provide a spread of rewards.
“In cash remittances, for those who purely play the alternate price recreation, then you definitely’re at all times buying the person,” stated Mehta. “In our case, as a result of we’ve acquired this rewards layer from the Occasions of India and different native advertisers, we don’t have that downside. We are able to at all times compete on alternate charges, understanding that we don’t have the identical buyer acquisition value that the opposite corporations may need.”
This seed spherical was all-equity, and was led by NEAR Basis, with participation from Circle Ventures, Occasions Web, and different traders. The corporate plans to make use of the contemporary money to develop its presence, enhance its choices and enhance its tech infrastructure.
“Conventional banks within the U.S. don’t concentrate on the monetary necessities of this section as a result of there isn’t any banking product constructed only for the NRI inhabitants. We see that as a big hole and alternative,” stated Gajwani.
Following the deal, Occasions Web will proceed to be the most important stakeholder in Abound. Gajwani instructed TechCrunch the Occasions Web could be “utilizing its strategic belongings to assist speed up Abound’s development.”
The market of platforms enabling international remittances is crowded with incumbents similar to Western Union, PayPal and MoneyGram, in addition to newer gamers like Remitly and Sensible. However Mehta thinks Abound has an edge because it “tremendous serves” customers by providing aggressive alternate 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 at the moment has a staff of 40 folks, based totally in India. It plans to develop its headcount and arrange an govt staff within the U.S. as properly.
In time, the agency plans to enter markets similar to Canada, Singapore and the UAE, which all have massive populations of non-resident Indians. Nonetheless, Mehta stated the quick focus is to cement its footing within the U.S. after which run pilots in international markets.