Anil Goteti’s Scapia raises $9 million in seed capital from Matrix, Tanglin, Binny Bansal’s fund

The seed funding of $9 million stands out at a time when tech investors have been extremely cautious about deploying capital.

Both Matrix Partners and Tanglin Venture Partners were investors in Goteti’s previous startup Protonn which shutdown and returned over $9 million to its investors, as reported by ET.

Goteti, who headed some of Flipkart’s key businesses such as mobile, home and furniture categories, quit the ecommerce firm in November 2020 after an eight-year stint and set up Protonn the following year. The company, however, could not find the right product-market fit and the founders did not agree to pivot its business model.

Scapia, which offers credit card, allows customers to earn points on spends which can be redeemed for flights and hotel stays worldwide. Goteti unveiled the card in partnership with Federal Bank earlier this month, which runs on the Visa network.

The Bengaluru-based firm will utilise the funds to scale operations and invest in technological capabilities, it said in a statement. “Millennials, with their considerable interest in travel, are looking for a primary card that can effectively reward them with travel benefits and perks. In addition, they want a delightful app with transparency and service that they can trust,” Goteti said in a prepared statement.

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Scapia had said its card also offers travel benefits like zero forex markup, unlimited domestic lounge access with zero joining and annual fees.Vikram Vaidyanathan, MD, Matrix Partners India, said, “We’re big believers in transaction credit and creating unique user journeys combining commerce and financing. Scapia has created one such user journey, enabling new travel experiences through a fintech suite of products, and a business model traversing both these sectors.”