TLDR: Bengaluru-based DPDzero, an AI-powered debt collection startup, has successfully raised $7 million in Series A funding. The round was led by GMO Venture Partners, SMBC Asia Rising Fund, and Blume Ventures, with participation from India Quotient and Sinarmas Group. The capital will be utilized to expand its AI capabilities, develop a multilingual AI collection agent, and establish a nationwide network of professional field collection agents, aiming to revolutionize debt recovery in India with an ethical and efficient approach.
DPDzero, a Bengaluru-based startup at the forefront of AI-powered debt collection, has announced the successful closure of its Series A funding round, securing $7 million. This significant investment is set to propel the company’s mission to build a high-performance, ethics-focused collections infrastructure for financial institutions across India.
The funding round was spearheaded by prominent investors including Japanese venture capital firm GMO Venture Partners, SMBC Asia Rising Fund, and existing investor Blume Ventures, which notably doubled its previous investment. Additional participation came from India Quotient, Sinarmas Group, and other investors. This Series A follows a previous raise of $4.7 million from investors such as Better Capital and Anmol Maini Ventures.
Founded in 2022 by Ananth Shroff and Ranjith B. R., DPDzero operates an AI-powered platform designed to automate and streamline debt collection processes for banks and Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs). The company’s innovative approach blends behavioral data, AI virtual agents, and human operations to engage with borrowers across multiple communication channels. By segmenting borrowers based on risk and repayment behavior, DPDzero aims to significantly improve recovery outcomes for lenders in a sector often criticized for its opacity and aggressive tactics.
Ananth Shroff, CEO & Founder of DPDzero, articulated the company’s vision, stating, “Collection has been the ignored stepchild of lending; it’s low tech, low intelligence, and worryingly, low ethics, as well. We are building the collections company India has been waiting for – reinventing everything from the ground up, bringing back the dignity it really deserves.”
The startup has demonstrated impressive growth, reporting a sixfold increase in revenue over the past 18 months. DPDzero has processed collections for over 10 million borrowers and currently manages active recovery operations involving 1.8 million borrowers per month. The company serves as a collections partner for leading fintechs and NBFCs, including Tata Capital, Moneyview, L&T Finance, and Manappuram Finance.
The newly secured capital will be strategically deployed to expand DPDzero’s AI capabilities, specifically to develop a multilingual AI collection agent. Furthermore, the funds will fuel the launch of a nationwide network of professional field collection agents, ensuring a comprehensive and ethical debt recovery solution across both digital and in-person channels.
Ryu Muramatsu, Founding Partner of GMO Venture Partners, expressed confidence in DPDzero’s potential, remarking, “As the credit landscape matures, collections remain its most under-served frontier. We believe DPDzero is building the foundational collections infrastructure by combining AI, execution-first DNA, and the kind of founder obsession required to disrupt the category. We’re proud to back Ananth and Ranjith as they reimagine collections for India.” This investment underscores GMO Venture Partners’ expanding presence in India’s fintech sector.
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DPDzero’s commitment to an ethics-first, tech-led approach positions it as a pioneer in India’s evolving collections landscape, aiming to transform debt recovery into a high-efficiency, high-empathy process that scales effectively for the nation’s growing credit economy.
