PeLocal, a Noida-based fintech company, has raised $5 million in a Series A funding round led by UNLEASH Capital Partners and Unicorn India Ventures, with participation from prominent angel investors.
The fresh funds raised will be used to accelerate product development, expand existing use cases, and push go-to-market efforts.
The company had previously raised $2 million in its seed round in October 2024, led by Unicorn India Ventures.
Founded in 2021 by Vivekanand Tripathi and Vikas Garg, Pelocal’s AI-powered payments orchestration platform enables large enterprises to acquire, engage, and collect from customers seamlessly within WhatsApp. This OTT chat platform serves over 700 million active users in India. Pelocal powers use cases such as ticketing, collections, customer acquisition, and servicing by embedding payments directly into WhatsApp conversations. It is also building tech infra products for BFSI enterprises.
Pelocal currently serves 40+ large enterprises across BFSI, transit, and utilities, delivering services to more than 5 million unique users monthly.
Since its last funding round, Pelocal has achieved a 6x growth in total payment value and now operates at an annualised payment run rate exceeding $500 million. The Company is aiming for an ARR of $10 million over the next 18–24 months.
Vivekanand Tripathi, Founder & CEO, Pelocal, said, “Until now, digital communications have largely been limited to peer-to-peer messages or one-way notifications. Our vision is to bring last-mile payments to the masses via WhatsApp by leveraging AI and advanced technologies. This fundraise enables us to execute that mission, and we’re thrilled to have the support of investors who share our conviction.”
Vikas Garg, Co-founder, Pelocal, said, “With strong market demand and the backing of our investors, we’re committed to delivering world-class products at the intersection of payments, communication, and enterprise technology.”
Natsuki Sugai, Managing Partner, UNLEASH Capital Partners, said, “Pelocal is redefining how enterprises interact and transact with customers by embedding payments into conversational interfaces like WhatsApp. With AI at the core, the company is solving a large-scale problem for Indian businesses and has the potential to scale globally. We are excited to back the Pelocal team on this journey.”
Anil Joshi, Managing Partner, Unicorn India Ventures, said, “We believed in Pelocal’s vision early on, and the company has delivered exceptional growth since our first investment. The surge in conversational commerce and embedded payment solutions presents a massive opportunity, and Pelocal is well-positioned to lead this transformation.”
