CoinSwitch Kuber Turns Unicorn, Raises $260 Mn From Coinbase Ventures And a16z The platform plans to use the funds to hire talent across engineering, product and data functions besides launching more asset classes to spread awareness about cryptocurrency
By Prabhjeet Bhatla •
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Cryptocurrency exchange Coinswitch Kuber on Wednesday said it has raised over $260 million led by new investors Coinbase Ventures and top Silicon Valley fund Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), bumping up its valuation four times in six months to $1.9 billion.
Existing backers Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital, and Paradigm invested as well. The deal makes CoinSwitch India's second cryptocurrency unicorn and 30th unicorn of 2021 in a record year for startup fundraising. Unicorns are private companies valued at a billion dollars or more.
It plans to use the funds to hire talent across engineering, product, and data functions, in addition to launching more asset classes, spreading awareness about cryptocurrency, and attracting institutional clients-compared to its retail consumer base so far.
"CoinSwitchKuber is on a mission to build wealth for Indians by making crypto more accessible. I believe, simplifying crypto investments for the Indian youth has helped us to stand out. We wanted to remove all the complexities in crypto trading, educate consumers and give them a simplified experience of one-click buy and sell in crypto. We are humbled by the trust shown in CoinSwitchKuber by two of the biggest names in the global crypto investment arena with Andreessen Horowitz choosing us to be their first investment in India. Coinbase Ventures' investment is also testimony to the confidence they have in CoinSwitchKuber's business model and tremendous potential India's crypto space has to offer," shared Ashish Singhal, co-founder, and chief executive officer, CoinSwitchKuber.
"The CoinSwitchKuber team has worked round the clock to be the most preferred platform for crypto investors in India. This has helped us to reach unicorn status in just over 14 months of operations in India. Over the last year, our focus has been to develop a robust product for Indian consumers. Now with this funding, we hope to propel ourselves further on our mission to bring crypto to every household in India," Singhal added.
Started in 2017 by Ashish Singhal, Govind Soni, and Vimal Sagar, CoinSwitch was launched as a global aggregator of crypto exchanges. The company launched its India operations in June 2020.
"We are incredibly excited about the crypto market opportunity in India, and with its breakout growth, CoinSwitch has emerged as the leading retail platform in the country," said David George, general partner, Andreessen Horowitz. "Ashish and the team have demonstrated strong execution abilities and the ambition to deliver an investment platform for the masses in India."
CoinSwitchKuber's previous investors include Paradigm, Ribbit Capital, Sequoia Capital India, and Tiger Global along with notable angel investors like Kunal Shah. CoinSwitchKuber has over 10 million users in India with a monthly active user base of over seven million.
