ToneTag (Naffa Innovations), a voice-based payment and commerce solutions provider, has raised ₹674 crore ($78 million) in its Series B2 funding round.
The funding is a combination of primary and secondary capital and is led by ValueQuest S.C.A.L.E. Fund and its co-investors who have committed over 50 per cent of the round, Iron Pillar, Elevate Inflection Capital LLC. Existing investor Elevate Innovation Partners LLC are also participating in this round.
The funds raised will be used to revamp customers’ payment experiences and accelerate its global expansion (Asia, South America and the Middle East). The funds will also be directed toward scaling operations, advancing R&D efforts, recruiting quality talent, and enhancing marketing initiatives.
Kumar Abhishek, Founder and CEO of ToneTag, said, “This funding round is a testament to the trust our investors have in our vision and technology prowess. With their support, we are ready to take the next big leap of bringing awe-inspiring experiences in the hands of consumers and expanding our solutions globally. This is not just a milestone for ToneTag but for India’s product innovation landscape.”
Pushkar Jauhari, MD and Head of Private Equity at ValueQuest said, “India’s digital payment landscape has been growing rapidly, and we are excited to partner with ToneTag. ToneTag’s innovative voice-based technology coupled with regulatory and customer validation positions it well to capture market opportunity. At ValueQuest, we like backing companies that leverage new technology and commercialize offerings to address real world challenges.”
Adding to this, Ashok Ananthakrishnan, Partner of Iron Pillar said, “We have been tracking ToneTag since 2017 and are excited to see the progress made by the company in terms of its marquee customer base, growth and profitability of the business. We are delighted to partner ToneTag in its next phase of growth in the payment infrastructure ecosystem. We believe ToneTag can play a crucial role in deepening and widening the UPI user base in both feature and non-feature phones in India. Iron Pillar is also keen on partnering ToneTag in its foray into newer markets such as GCC, SouthEast Asia and South America.”
Founded in 2014 by Kumar Abhishek and Vivek K. Singh, ToneTag provides a business-to-business SaaS solution that enables banks and fintech companies to integrate soundwave-based payments into their platforms.
ToneTag enables payments & proximity customer engagement services via secure sound waves, independent of the instrument or infrastructure.
ToneTag enables easy, frictionless, and secure proximity payments using sound(Tone) or NFC (Tag), It works on any mobile device, and No internet is required on the user device at the time of initiating payment.
ToneTag is leveraging its patented soundwave protocol to deliver a seamless solution to its customers. The company, which facilitates over 30 million interactions daily using its proprietary soundwave technology.