Banking Tech Startup Is Unicorn With $250 Million From SoftBank

Banking technology provider Zeta raised $250 million from SoftBank Vision Fund II at a valuation of $1.45 billion, winning its first venture backing to help fuel its expansion.

The deal pushes Zeta’s valuation up more than fourfold from 2019, when an investment by strategic partner Sodexo SA valued the startup with Indian roots at about $300 million. Sodexo also participated in the latest round as a minority investor, Zeta said in a statement on Monday.

Zeta plans to expand in the U.S. and Europe as banks increasingly move online and away from operating branches. It provides backbone technology for credit and credit-card processing, core banking, loans, mobile banking and personal finance management.

Banks “innovate at snail’s pace,” Bhavin Turakhia, co-founder and chief executive officer, said in a video interview from Dubai, where he’s currently based. “Even space travel got disrupted before the banking industry.”

Turakhia, now 41, helped found Zeta in 2015, after launching and exiting several startups with his brother, Divyank. Turakhia started coding at 10, became a millionaire by 20, and shared a billion-dollar fortune with his brother at 36 after selling multiple startups without any venture backing.