- Companies
- Tala
Last Tala valuation
$800M
Series E · Oct 2021
Last Tala funding round
$14M
Series E · Oct 2021
Cumulative funding Tala raised
$216M
across 7 funding rounds
Key investors in Tala
Lowercase Capital
DCVC
IVP
Collaborative Fund
Female Founders Fund
Revolution Growth
About Tala
Tala is a San Mateo-headquartered fintech company founded in 2011. It delivers mobile credit, savings, payments, and remittances to underserved consumers in Kenya, Philippines, Mexico, and India using machine learning for credit scoring without traditional histories.
Founded
2011
HQ
Website
Status
Privately held
Customer focus
B2C
Revenue model
Product sales
Valuation
$800M (Oct 2021)
Tala Valuation
Tala is currently valued at $800M, based on its Series E in October 2021.
The $14M round was led by J. Safra Sarasin, Kindred Ventures, Lowercase Capital, Revolution Growth and Stellar Development Foundation, with participation from IVP, Upstart and Gary Marino.
Tala's valuation has grown 10x from $78M at its Series B in February 2017 to $800M in October 2021, across 3 priced rounds.
Tala valuation by funding round
| Date | Stage | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 2021 | Series E | $800M |
| Aug 2019 | Series D | $750M |
| Feb 2017 | Series B | $78M |
Tala Funding History
Tala has raised a total of $216M across 7 funding rounds.
Tala's first fundraising round was a $1M seed round in February 2013. The most recent completed round was a $14M Series E in October 2021.
Tala funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2021 | Series E | J. Safra Sarasin (lead); Kindred Ventures (lead); Lowercase Capital (lead); Revolution Growth (lead); Stellar Development Foundation (lead); IVP; Upstart; Gary Marino | $14M | $800M | Tala is a California-based financial services platform providing microloans and banking services to underbanked populations in emerging markets. Founded in 2014, the company offers loans ranging from $10 to $500 through a mobile Android application, with rates as low as 4%, designed to serve people without traditional credit history. In October 2021, Tala raised $145 million in Series E funding, valuing the company at north of $800 million post-money. The round was led by Upstart, a lending platform founded by ex-Googlers, with participation from the Stellar Development Foundation and new investors Kindred Ventures and the J. Safra Group. Existing investors IVP, Revolution Growth, Lowercase Capital, and PayPal Ventures also participated, bringing total funding to over $350 million. By the time of the Series E round, Tala had distributed over $2.7 billion in credit to more than 6 million customers across Kenya, the Philippines, Mexico, and India. The company planned to use proceeds to launch expanded financial account features allowing users to borrow, save, and manage money, and to develop cryptocurrency solutions leveraging the Stellar network. Board additions included Paul Gu from Upstart and Denelle Dixon from the Stellar Development Foundation. |
| Aug 2019 | Series D | Notable Capital (lead); RPS Ventures (lead); Revolution Growth; IVP; Lowercase Capital; DCVC; Thomvest Ventures | $110M | $750M | Tala, a Santa Monica-based fintech providing uncollateralized microloans to underserved customers in emerging markets like Kenya, the Philippines, Mexico, and India, raised $110 million in its Series D funding round on August 21, 2019. The round was led by RPS Ventures (also listed as Notable Capital in query), with participation from GGV Capital and existing investors including IVP, Revolution Growth (Revolution Growth), Lowercase Capital, DCVC (Data Collective VC), ThomVest Ventures, and PayPal Ventures. This brought Tala's total equity funding to over $215 million, with the company valued above $750 million post-money according to TechCrunch sources. Additionally, Tala secured $100 million in debt financing, including a $50 million facility led by Colchis. By the time of the Series D, Tala had disbursed over $1 billion in loans to more than 4 million customers, up from $300 million to 1.3 million customers the prior year, with over 90% of users repaying in 20-30 days and becoming recurring. Tala uses smartphone data such as texts, calls, app usage, and transactions to build credit profiles via machine learning, approving $10-$500 loans in minutes and disbursing via mobile wallets. It generates revenue through one-time fees as low as 5% and reports user data to local credit bureaus. The funds were earmarked for entering the Indian fintech market following a 12-month pilot, expanding operations, launching new products, and scaling teams across multiple countries. RPS Ventures' Kabir Misra joined Tala's board. Tala differentiated from banks by not relying on credit scores and competed in digital lending spaces, positioning itself as a top app in its markets with dynamic pricing and financial education tools. |
| Apr 2018 | Series C | Revolution Growth (lead); IVP; Lowercase Capital; Ribbit Capital; Female Founders Fund; DCVC | $50M | - | Tala, a global leader in mobile-first financial services for underserved consumers, announced a $50 million Series C equity investment on April 17, 2018, led by Revolution Growth, with participation from existing investors IVP (Data Collective), Lowercase Capital, Ribbit Capital, and Female Founders Fund. The company also recently raised an additional $15 million to power its loan book, bringing total fundraising to more than $105 million. Steve Murray, managing partner at Revolution Growth, joined Tala's board of directors. Tala uses Android and behavioral data to instantly underwrite customers with little or no formal credit history, offering loans typically between $10 to $500 to consumers and small business owners in emerging markets like Kenya and the Philippines. The funding supported Tala's expansion into Mexico and India, addressing high demand for consumer credit among underserved populations. The company positioned itself as a customer-driven platform to bring investment and opportunity to these communities. At the time, Tala operated across locations including Southern California, Kenya, Mexico, the Philippines, and planned further growth in India. |
| Feb 2017 | Series B | Collaborative Fund (lead); DCVC (lead); Female Founders Fund (lead); IVP (lead); Lowercase Capital (lead); Ribbit Capital | $30M | $78M | Tala, a Los Angeles-based fintech startup founded in 2011, provides credit scoring and uncollateralized lending via a mobile app targeting underserved populations in emerging markets like East Africa and Southeast Asia. The app analyzes smartphone data such as financial transactions, savings, network diversity, and geographic patterns to generate customized credit scores, enabling instant loan approvals and disbursements ranging from $10 to $500. On February 22, 2017, Tala raised $30.34 million in its Series B funding round with a post-money valuation of $77.92 million. The round was led by Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), with participation from Ribbit Capital, and existing investors including Collaborative Fund, DCVC (Data Collective), Female Founders Fund, and Lowercase Capital. Proceeds were earmarked for product development, market expansion, and team growth. At the time, Tala reported having issued over 1 million loans totaling $50 million, achieving repayment rates above 95%. This traction underscored its model of using alternative data for financial inclusion, aiming to serve over two billion underserved individuals globally. Tala continued scaling post-Series B, with subsequent rounds including a Series D in 2019 raising $110 million at a valuation above $750 million, entering India after a pilot, and lending over $1 billion to 4 million customers by then. Cumulative funding reached over $624 million across multiple rounds by 2025. |
| Sep 2015 | Series A | Chris Hughes (lead); Collaborative Fund (lead); DCVC (lead); Female Founders Fund (lead); India Internet Fund (lead); Nathan Gettings; TGM ventures; Thomas Glocer; Lowercase Capital; Park Bench Capital; Vikram Pandit | $10M | - | - |
| Jul 2014 | Seed | GV; Lowercase Capital; MESA; Collaborative Fund; Mumbai Angels; Sopoong Ventures | $1M | - | - |
| Feb 2013 | Seed | Artha Group | $1M | - | - |
Who has invested in Tala?
27 investors have backed Tala across its funding rounds, including Lowercase Capital, DCVC, IVP, Collaborative Fund, Female Founders Fund and Revolution Growth.
Lead investors include J. Safra Sarasin, Kindred Ventures, Lowercase Capital, Revolution Growth, Stellar Development Foundation and 8 other investors.
Tala Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Lead | Jul 2014 | ||
| 4 | Lead | Feb 2017 | ||
| 4 | Lead | Sep 2015 | ||
| 3 | Lead | Apr 2018 | ||
| 3 | Lead | Sep 2015 | ||
| 3 | Lead | Jul 2014 | ||
| 2 | Participant | Feb 2017 | ||
| 1 | Lead | Sep 2015 | ||
| 1 | Lead | Sep 2015 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Sep 2015 | ||
| 1 | Lead | Aug 2019 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jul 2014 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Sep 2015 | ||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all 27 Tala investors. Start Free Trial | ||||
Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
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Start Free TrialAcquisitions by Tala
Tala has acquired 1 company to date.
Last acquisition by Tala was on December 1st 2021. Tala acquired Jefa for undisclosed valuation.
Latest Acquisitions by Tala
| Description | Jefa is a Mexico City-headquartered fintech platform launched in 2021 that connects women to tailored financial services via a dedicated mobile app. Users explore a curated marketplace offering personal loans, savings products, investment funds, credit cards, and insurance policies from partner institutions like Banco Azteca and Seguros Monterrey New York Life. The service emphasizes user-friendly interfaces, biometric security, and financial literacy resources to serve unbanked and underbanked demographics across Mexico. |
| HQ Country | |
| HQ City | Mexico City |
| Deal Date | 1 Dec 2021 |
| Valuation | undisclosed |
| EV/Revenue | |
| EV/EBITDA | |
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Tala acquisitions and their M&A valuation multiples. Start Free Trial | |
Tala Competitors
Tala competitors include listed companies like Green Dot, Wealthfront and Klarna, and private ones like Clear, Monedo and Oriente.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publicly listed | $2.1B | ($12M) | $751M | 0.3x | ||
| Private | $25M | - | $700M | 28.0x | ||
| Private | - | - | $545M | - | ||
| Publicly listed | $365M | ($93M) | $1.6B | 4.2x | ||
| Private | - | - | $400M | - | ||
| Publicly listed | $3.5B | $551M | $5.3B | 1.3x |
Tala Public Comps
Tala is still privately-owned, but its public comps include FinVolution Group, Judo Bank, Katapult, Green Dot, Bank Jago, Wema Bank, Propel Holdings, Funding Circle, Yixin Group and Forbright Bank.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $2B | $476M | 0.0x | 0.1x | 0.2x | 0.3x | |||
| $368M | - | 2.2x | 2.1x | - | - | |||
| $292M | $215M | 3.0x | 2.7x | 4.0x | 58.2x | |||
| $2.1B | ($12M) | 0.4x | 0.3x | (63.9x) | 4.2x | |||
| $145M | - | 5.1x | 3.7x | - | - | |||
| $312M | - | 2.8x | - | - | - | |||
| $556M | $130M | 1.9x | 1.5x | 8.3x | 6.8x | |||
| $299M | $42M | 2.6x | 2.3x | 18.5x | 10.6x | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Tala competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about Tala
| When was Tala founded? | Tala was founded in 2011. |
| Where is Tala headquartered? | Tala is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, United States. |
| Is Tala publicly listed? | No, Tala is a private, VC-backed company. |
| What is Tala's valuation? | Tala was last valued at $800M in its Series E in October 2021. |
| How much funding has Tala raised? | Tala has raised $216M across 7 funding rounds. |
| What was Tala's last funding round? | Tala's last funding round was a $14M Series E in October 2021, led by J. Safra Sarasin, Kindred Ventures, Lowercase Capital, Revolution Growth and 1 other investor. |
| Who are Tala's investors? | Tala's investors include Lowercase Capital, IVP, DCVC, Revolution Growth, Female Founders Fund, Collaborative Fund, Ribbit Capital, India Internet Fund, Chris Hughes, Nathan Gettings and 17 others. |
| Which companies are comparable to Tala? | Companies comparable to Tala include Green Dot, Clear, Monedo, Wealthfront, Oriente and Klarna. |
| How many companies has Tala acquired? | Tala has acquired 1 company, including Jefa. |
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