Bengaluru, August 2025 — India’s fintech startup DPDzero, which specializes in AI-driven debt recovery for banks and NBFCs, has successfully raised $7 million in its Series A round. The round was co-led by GMO Venture Partners, with participation from SMBC Asia Rising Fund, Blume Ventures, India Quotient, and Sinarmas Group.
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What DPDzero Does & Who It Serves
Founded in 2022 by Ananth Shroff and Ranjith B. R., DPDzero combines AI-powered virtual agents with human collections operations to serve a range of lenders, including Tata Capital, Moneyview, L&T Finance, Manappuram Finance, RBL Bank, and IndusInd Bank. It currently manages collections for 1.8 million borrowers every month, and its revenue has grown sixfold over the past 18 months.
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What the Funding Will Power
The fresh capital will be deployed to:
- Enhance its multi‑lingual AI collections agent
- Launch a network of ethical, tech-enabled field collection agents, starting in Bengaluru and expanding to high-volume regions like Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh
Why It Matters
DPDzero contends with a deeply underserved part of financial services — debt collection, a domain often associated with outdated processes and poor consumer experience. As CEO Ananth Shroff puts it:
“Collection has been the ignored stepchild of lending; it’s low tech, low intelligence, and worryingly, low ethics as well.”
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Executive stakeholders underscore the strategic value of DPDzero’s approach:
- Ryu Muramatsu, founding partner at GMO Venture Partners, lauds DPDzero’s blend of AI, execution-minded culture, and founder dedication.
- Keiji Matsunaga from SMBC emphasizes the importance of compliant, consistent collections as
- Sajith Pai, Partner at Blume Ventures, highlights DPDzero’s progress from a determined early-stage team to a trusted collections partner with sixfold growth.
Meanwhile, clients like Moneyview have affirmed DPDzero’s impact on both collections velocity and borrower satisfaction.
Broader Trend: Towards Ethical, Tech-Driven Collections
India’s digital lending landscape is booming — but collections processes have lagged behind. With growing public and regulatory scrutiny around harassment and compliance, DPDzero is building a model that prioritizes technology, data-driven personalization, and borrower dignity, not just recovery rates.
This growth also reflects an investor preference for startups tackling foundational infrastructure gaps in the financial system — rather than surface-level app plays.
Final Take
DPDzero’s recent $7 million raise signals a strong vote of confidence in fintech infrastructure modernization. By integrating AI with empathetic field operations, the startup is helping lenders collect smarter — and more responsibly.
Would you like to explore:
- A sector brief comparing debt-collection startups like Credgenics and Rezolv?
- An infographic illustrating DPDzero’s growth trajectory and expansion plan?
- Or a founder-side profile of how Ananth and Ranjith built DPDzero’s culture and model?
