India-based insurance and financial product supplier ETechAces has secured approximately $152m in series F capital from a consortium led by telecommunications group SoftBank’s Vision Fund, DealStreetAsia has reported.
Classified listings operator Info Edge participated in the round through its Diphda Internet Services subsidiary, while private equity firm True North and investment firm Startup Holding also invested. Vision Fund supplied $68m through a local vehicle called SVF India and the $152m represents a first close.
Founded in 2008, ETechAces operates two online platforms – PolicyBazaar and PaisaBazaar – that respectively focus on comparing and selling insurance policies, and lending and investment products.
The company raised $238m in June 2018 in what was also dubbed a series F round, though it is unclear how the two transactions relate to each other. The June 2018 round was also led by SoftBank Vision Fund and included Info Edge and True North.
ETechAces later revealed it had secured $27.7m in funding from Info Edge and Singaporean government-owned investment firm Temasek in July 2018, though it could not be ascertained whether that investment in fact formed part of the June close.
Info Edge had initially provided an undisclosed amount of seed capital for the company, returning to participate in a $5m series B round in 2013 alongside semiconductor and data technology producer Intel’s corporate venture capital unit, Intel Capital, and VC firm Inventus Capital Partners.
The company subsequently secured $20m in a series C round backed by Tiger Global Management and existing shareholders in 2014, before adding $40m in series D funding the following year from Tiger Global, Ribbit Capital, Steadview Capital, PremjiInvest and ABG Capital.
Temasek reportedly acquired an 8% stake in ETechAces by buying $17.6m worth of shares from Intel Capital later in 2014, before joining True North, Tiger Global, PremiInvest, IDG Ventures India and Wellington Management for a $77m series E round in 2017.
