Indian Couple Turns Their Second Startup Oxyzo Into Unicorn Within a Year

An Indian pair became the country’s first husband and wife to grow their individual startup Oxyzo into unicorns with a valuation of at least $1 billion.

Oxyzo Financial Services, a digital lending company co-founded by Ruchi Kalra, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $200 million in its first round of funding, backed by Alpha Wave Global, Norwest Venture Partners, Tiger Global Management,  and others. OfBusiness, which received investment from SoftBank Group Corp. and others less than a year ago, had attained the same valuation.

Matrix Partners also invested in Oxyzo, which is one of India’s largest Series A transactions.

Kalra, Mohapatra, and three others founded Oxyzo in 2017 as a follow-up to the couple’s first enterprise, OfBusiness, which they founded with three others in early 2016. Oxyzo analyses data and offers businesses with purchase finance, giving cash-flow-based loans in a credit-scarce country where small and medium-sized enterprises struggle to access working capital.

OfBusiness, formerly known as OFB Tech Pvt., supplies bulk raw commodities such as steel, gasoline, food grains, and industrial chemicals to small and medium-sized businesses. When SoftBank and others invested in April of last year, it was valued at over $1 billion, according to Mohapatra. According to him, the startup’s valuation reached over $5 billion in December when SoftBank and other investors increased their investment.

According to Kalra, the two firms operate independently, with distinct offices and personnel. They do, however, have similar businesses in mind, such as manufacturing and infrastructure subcontracting. Both are based in Gurgaon, in the New Delhi suburbs.

Oxyzo is a supply chain analytics firm with a data warehouse and over 500 employees. It has disbursed roughly $2 billion in loans and has been profitable since its inception.