India-based accountancy software provider Clear has secured $75m in a series C round featuring digital payment technology provider Stripe, The Economic Times reported on Sunday.
Investment firm Kora Capital led the round and was also joined by Alua Capital, Think Capital and unnamed existing investors. People with knowledge of the deal told ET it increased the company’s valuation from $250m to approximately $700m.
Founded in 2011 as ClearTax and incubated by Y Combinator, Clear has developed an online platform which enables individuals and businesses to efficiently file their taxes.
The funding will be put towards speeding up the company’s expansion into the business-to-business credit and payments space in international markets such as Europe and the Middle East.
For Stripe, the round marks the first corporate venturing investment it has made in a company in India, though it came days after it agreed to acquire India-based payment software developer Recko.
Clear last raised money in 2018, when it hauled in $54.2m through a series B round led by investment firm Composite Capital that included Sequoia Capital and SAIF Partners, the latter having provided $12m in series A funding in June 2016.
The company had received $2m in seed funding from Founders Fund’s FF Angel vehicle and Sequoia Capital in May 2016, and $1.3m from angel investors including Max Levchin, Scott Banister, Naval Ravikant, Neeraj Arora and Ruchi Sanghvi the previous month.
