E-commerce giant Amazon is set to acquire Indian startup Axio, an online lending platform offering point-of-sale financing. Amazon first invested in Axio during its Series C funding round six years ago and currently holds an 8% stake in the company.
“In December, after the successful completion of due diligence, we signed an agreement with Amazon for a proposed acquisition of Axio. The transaction will now await the required regulatory approvals,” the company stated in a blog post.
While financial details of the deal remain undisclosed, Axio—formerly known as Capital Float—has raised $137 million in equity and $671 million in debt and is valued at at approximately $201 million. Key investors include Peak XV, Ribbit Capital, Lightrock, Elevation Capital, and others.
As of September 30, Axio’s shareholder structure includes Lightrock (19.8%), Elevation Capital (13%), Peak XV (10.7%), Ribbit Capital (8.9%), and SOROS Economic Development Fund (4%). Founders Sashank Rishyasringa and Gaurav Hinduja collectively hold a 7.7% stake in the company.
“We have achieved steady growth with robust asset quality, serving over 10 million customers to date, with an Assets under Management (AuM) of ₹2,200 crore and a 3% gross non-performing assets (GNPA) ratio,” Axio noted in its blog post. The company’s revenue surged 50% in FY24 to ₹351 crore, while losses reduced significantly to ₹18 crore, compared to ₹137 crore in the previous fiscal year.
Axio primarily lends to individuals at the point of sale on various e-commerce platforms, including Amazon. Although it started operations in 2014 by lending to the SME segment, it later pivoted to consumer finance in 2018 and acquired a 60% stake in Walnut, a personal finance app. Axio partnered with merchants to offer buy now pay later credit products during checkout.
Axio operates in a competitive consumer credit market alongside players such as Bajaj Finance. One of its competitors, ZestMoney, was acquired by DMI Finance in a fire sale last January after failing to navigate regulatory changes.