Amazon to acquire Indian fintech Axio in credit push

Amazon agreed to acquire it Buy Indian now pay after the start Axiois deepening its push into financial services in one of its fastest-growing markets as it seeks to expand access to credit to millions of underserved customers.

The US technology group, which has held a stake in Axio for six years, signed the acquisition agreement in December after completing due diligence, the Indian startup said in a blog post.

Financial terms were not disclosed. The Bengaluru-based startup, formerly known as Capital Float, has raised $232 million from investors including Peak XV Partners, Ribbit Capital, Elevation Capital against equity and debt over the years.

The startup, which specializes in providing small-scale credit to the self-employed and families at the point of sale on major e-commerce platforms including Amazon and MakeMyTrip, said it serves more than 10 million customers and built a loan book more. $260 million.

Axio is among a group of Indian startups operating in a market where traditional access to credit remains limited – India has low credit card penetration, and conventional banks often find small-ticket loans unprofitable.

The startup tried to address this gap by building a regulated lending platform that can quickly assess creditworthiness, making credit decisions “in two clicks and five seconds.” But like many other startups in the category, Axio has also struggled to maintain its growth. Goldman Sachs-backed ZestMoney, which operates in a similar space and was once valued at $450 million, has also struggled andeventually it was chosen by a traditional firm in a fire sale.

Axio is the second startup Amazon has acquired in India, where it has deployed more than $10 billion to date. Amazon acquired video-on-demand streaming service MX Player in June of last year.