CRED acquires CreditVidya

CRED is acquiring CreditVidya, a software-as-a-service startup that helps firms underwrite first-time borrowers, in the latest of a series of investments from the Bengaluru-headquartered fintech.

The firms did not reveal the terms of the deal, but they did say that it involves both cash and stock. The 10-year-old CreditVidya was last valued at $30 million after raising $10 million in previous financing rounds.

CRED said in a statement that it would extend its employee stock program and other benefits to the CreditVidya workforce.

Financial progress depends on expanding access to credit. There are signals of trust among under-served cohort. The founder and chief executive of CRED said in a statement that they look forward to supporting them.

CreditVidya offers software development kits that can be used by firms to integrate into their apps and collect user data. Many of the applicants with little to no credit history are helped by the startup to assess their credit risk. The startup says it has served over 25 million people.

We have invested in category-defining products that bring financial services to credit under-served Indians through our partners. In the next phase of our growth, we are excited to learn from the CRED team

CRED has made a number of investments in the last year. The startup, which gives users the ability to manage and pay their credit card and scores of other bills on time as well as access to D2C brands and loans, invested in CredAvenue earlier this year.

CRED, backed by Tiger Global, Sequoia India, Alpha Wave Venture and Dragoneer and valued at $6.4 billion, engaged with Smallcase earlier this year, initially to explore an investment and later for a majority acquisition, according to reports. Two people familiar with the matter say that the talks didn't happen after Smallcase's board declined the offer.