Fintech startup Aspora (formerly Vance) on Monday said it has raised $93 million across three funding rounds from investors including Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners, Hummingbird Ventures, Soma Capital, Global Founders Capital, and Y Combinator.
Founded in 2022 by Parth Garg, who dropped out of Stanford to launch the venture, Aspora initially began as a remittance platform for Indian diaspora communities. It claims to have processed $2 billion in transfers so far, up from $400 million just six months ago, and says its 250,000 users have saved over $15 million in fees compared to traditional players.
The company plans to enter the US in July, followed by Canada, Australia, and Singapore by year-end. It already operates in the UK, EU, and UAE, offering low-cost money transfers, and now wants to evolve into a full-stack neobank for immigrants, offering accounts, investments, credit, and insurance products tailored for those living between countries.
Its angel investors include Quantum Light, Balaji Srinivasan (Ex-CTO of Coinbase), Sundeep Jain (Ex-CPO of Uber), Prasanna Sankar (Co-founder of Rippling), and Chad West (ex-CMO at Revolut).
The company did not disclose a breakdown of the three rounds or its current valuation.
“The Indian diaspora .. don’t just send money home to their families. They also invest in the booming Indian stock market, take out loans, and account for close to a quarter of the country’s real estate transactions. But opening an NRI account with a legacy bank is still a painful, months-long process of mailing paper forms and even flying back to sign in person.” Sequoia said in a statement.
Aspora is bringing diaspora banking into the modern age, with fully digitised services to allow global diasporas to participate in their home countries’ growth stories—starting with non-resident Indians around the world, Sequoia said, adding that Aspora will expand to offer a comprehensive neobanking product, with access to local savings, investing and more.
Sequoia’s investment in Aspora is its first since its exit from the country in 2023 and the formation of Peak XV, its separate India and Southeast Asia arm.
