Zolve—a company aiming to solve the problem of international students lacking financial history when abroad—announced it secured $251 million in equity and debt to scale its solution to making financial borders as seamless as geographic ones.
This funding round featured a $51 million Series B round led by Creaegis, with participation from HSBC, SBI Investment, GMO Venture Partners, DG Daiwa Ventures, and existing investors Accel, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sparta Group, and DST Global Partners. This round also includes a $200 million warehouse line from Community Investment Management to fuel its growing credit portfolio across geographies. And this substantial investment comes as Zolve reaches the 750,000 customers mark for whom the company has moved over $1.2 billion.
Before Zolve, highly skilled global professionals faced a financial catch-22: credit cards were declined without a local credit history, but building credit required access to credit products. And banks offered only secured cards which required large deposits for minimal credit limits, and opening a bank account was often a complicated, time-consuming process for those new to a country.
In response, Zolve also pioneered a unique approach that enables global citizens to access financial services from day one of moving to a new country. By utilizing home country financial data, the company provides US credit cards and checking accounts to professionals and students moving to America, solving the classic chicken-and-egg problem of credit access for newcomers.
Zolve was created by Raghu G, a serial entrepreneur who previously founded TaxiForSure, which was acquired for $200 million in 2015 and an angel investor and LP in various funds. And since launching in 2021, Zolve has achieved remarkable growth becoming customer-level profitable in early 2024 and is on track for company-level profitability by the end of 2025. Plus, 70% of customers come through referrals and word-of-mouth, underscoring strong organic demand.
Zolve’s funding comes at a major time for global mobility. And reports indicate that over 47.8 million foreign-born residents in the U.S. drive $1.7 trillion in spending power, creating a significant opportunity to serve this financially underserved yet highly creditworthy segment. Even though the cross-border financial space has seen several players attempt to serve newcomers, many have struggled to gain traction or shut down entirely. What sets Zolve apart is its unique business model: costs in INR (Indian Rupees) and revenue in USD, focus on super-prime customers, and the ability to become the primary financial relationship for global citizens from day one.
Going forward, Zolve plans aggressive expansion into three key areas. And geographically, Canada is next, followed by the UK and Australia.
The company will also expand its credit portfolio by launching auto loans, personal loans, and education loans. And ultimately, Zolve aims to become a full-stack financial platform for global citizens, enabling seamless international money transfers, insurance, and investment products.
KEY QUOTES:
“The financial system isn’t designed for mobility. When talented people move countries, their financial history is erased overnight. We’re changing that by giving global citizens access to credit and banking from the moment they arrive.”
“The goal is simple. Wherever global citizens move, Zolve moves with them.”
– Raghu G, Founder and CEO of Zolve
“We are excited to partner with Raghu and team to build a differentiated digital platform to solve a large use case for Global professionals. Our experience of investing in pioneering global SaaS companies and in the financial ecosystem will enable us to support the company’s mission to offer financial products for international students and professionals worldwide.”
– Prakash Parthasarathy, managing partner and CIO and Nitish Bandi, partner, Creaegis, in a joint statement
