AbentA remittance app that was split off by Times Internet in 2023 has collected $ 14 million in its first external financing round, because it aims to reach more Indian expats in the US
Remittance streams to India rise as the Indian diaspora spreads worldwide. In 2024 the South Asian country was registered $ 129.1 billion in transfersGood for a share of 14.3% of the world market and at the top of the charts, according to a report from the World Bank. In abundance, it is intended to tackle this growth with his mobile app.
“Indians are among the largest immigrant groups in the US. The average family income in the US is almost $ 58,000, and the average Indian family income is around $ 150,000. That tells you that Indian expats are rich, well -being, and they are enormously under -assisted in terms of products and ceo, said Nishkaam, said Nishkaam, CEO, said Nishkaam, CEO, CEO, CEO, CEO, CEO, CEO, CEO, CEO, CEO. An interview.
Mehta, who worked at Hulu for more than four years as head of his mobile strategy and growth, joined Times Internet in 2019 after he had met his vice-chairman Satyan Gajwani to make a “super app” for non-resident Indians. The startup was incubated in the technical arm of the Indian Mediacongglomerate, The Times of India Group.
In the first instance, Times Club, in abundance, can send users money to India, earn rewards and get cashback on services, including live sports streaming, groceries and OTT subscriptions. The company has plans to explore roads to give users access to high efficiency, india -oriented investments and cross -border credit solutions.
“In our model as a super app we imagine a role for banks itself to be part of the platform,” Mehta told Techcrunch.
The company claims that it has processed more than $ 150 million in transferments of its more than 500,000 monthly transacting users, and that sales have risen by 50% since the launch by 50%.
Abound’s transfer volume rose by 15% every month and the startup processed $ 110 million to $ 120 million in the last 12 months, Mehta said.
In abundance, advertisements generates income from rewards and foreign exchange spread on money transferments. Deviezen offers considerable growth potential, explained Mehta. The startup said that the Times of India’s also help more than 50 million monthly online visitors outside of India to reach new users and offer a series of rewards.
“In cash, if you play the exchange rate game purely, you always acquire the user,” said Mehta. “In our case, because we have this reward layer of the Times of India and other local advertisers, we don’t have that problem. We can always compete with exchange rates, knowing that we do not have the same customer acquisition costs that the other companies have.”
This seed round was all-equity and was led by Almost Foundation, with the participation of Circle Ventures, Times Internet and other investors. The company is planning to use the new money to expand its presence, to increase its offer and improve its technical infrastructure.
“Traditional banks in the US do not focus on the financial requirements of this segment because no bank product was built only for the NRI population. We see that as a big gap and opportunities,” said Gajwani.
After the deal Times Internet remains the biggest stakeholder in abundance. Gajwani told Techcrunch The Times Internet would be “The use of his strategic assets to speed up Abound.”
The market for platforms that make foreign transfers possible is full of established operators such as Western Union, PayPal and Moneygram, as well as newer players such as Remitly and Wijs. But Mehta thinks there has plenty of a lead, because it “serves super” by offering competing exchange rates, as well as rewards and cashback at around 5,000 Indian supermarkets and access to live-streamed cricket-Veruit the most popular sport in India.
A team of 40 people currently has in abundance, mainly based in India. It is planning to expand his workforce and also set up an executive team in the US.
Over time, the company is planning to enter markets such as Canada, Singapore and the VAE, all of which have large populations of non-resident Indians. Nevertheless, Mehta said that the immediate focus is to strengthen his foot in the US and then run pilots in foreign markets.