Noida-based fintech company Pelocal has raised $5 million in its Series A round, led by UNLEASH Capital Partners and Unicorn India Ventures, with additional backing from select angel investors.
This follows the startup’s $2 million seed round in October 2024, also led by Unicorn India Ventures.
The new funding will be channelled into accelerating product innovation, deepening current use cases, and driving go-to-market expansion.
Founded in 2021 by Vivekanand Tripathi and Vikas Garg, Pelocal has built an AI-driven payments orchestration layer on WhatsApp, allowing enterprises to integrate collections, engagement, ticketing, and customer service directly into conversations. With over 700 million WhatsApp users in India, the platform positions itself as a natural distribution channel for last-mile payments.
Pelocal currently serves 40+ enterprises across BFSI, transit, and utilities, engaging over 5 million unique users each month. The company claims to have grown 6x in total payment volumes since its last round, operating at an annualised run rate above $500 million.
“Our goal is to make digital payments more accessible by meeting customers where they already are—on WhatsApp,” said Vivekanand Tripathi, Founder & CEO of Pelocal. “With this funding, we’ll strengthen our AI stack, expand into new verticals, and build robust infrastructure for large enterprises.”
Pelocal aims to hit $10 million ARR within the next 18–24 months, with a sharp focus on BFSI use cases and tech infra solutions tailored to enterprises.
By: Arushi Agarwal
