Tala, global technology company, announced today a $145 million Series E fundraise led by Upstart with participation from the Stellar Development Foundation. New investors Kindred Ventures and the J Safra Group, along with existing investors including IVP, Revolution Growth, Lowercase Capital, and PayPal Ventures also joined the round, which brings Tala’s total funding to more than $350 million.
Tala will use the investment to accelerate the rollout of its new financial account experience, which provides customers with fresh tools to borrow, save and manage their money, all through Tala’s top-rated consumer finance app. Tala will also grow its team across Kenya, India, the Philippines, Mexico and the United States and pull forward plans for both geographic and product expansion, including crypto offerings, it said in a press release.
Tala was already testing its new product lines in early 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated demand for digital financial services. The company entered India in 2020 and has already had more than half a million users sign up for the platform.
In addition to payments and savings, Tala’s evolved account will offer an expanded range of personalized credit options, including longer-term loans and credit that can be configured to match customers’ income cycles.
As part of this fundraise, Paul Gu, co-founder of Upstart and Denelle Dixon, CEO and Executive Director of the Stellar Development Foundation, have joined Tala’s board of directors.
“Tala has spent the past seven years delivering critical and valued services in markets where the financial system is fundamentally broken for millions of people,” said Shivani Siroya, founder and CEO, Tala. “This new investment will accelerate our path to becoming the primary financial account for the global underbanked and helping millions more people make progress in their financial lives. Paul Gu and Denelle Dixon are visionary leaders who share our commitment to building a financial system that works for everyone and we are thrilled to welcome them to the team.”
Paul Gu, Co-Founder and Head of Product at Upstart, said, “Upstart shares Tala's belief that technology is the key to unlock access for the underserved, and we're excited to support them in serving the next 1 billion people entering the financial system.”
“This Stellar Enterprise Fund investment represents our high confidence in Tala’s technology, traction, and leadership – supporting their growth made perfect sense,” said CEO and Executive Director, Denelle Dixon.
