GMO Venture Partners, SMBC, Blume Lead USD 7 Mn Investment in Debt Collection Platform DPDzero The round also drew participation from India Quotient, Sinarmas Group, and other investors.
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Debt collection platform DPDzero has secured USD 7 million in a Series A funding round led by Japanese venture capital firm GMO Venture Partners, SMBC Asia Rising Fund, and Blume Ventures, which increased its investment from earlier rounds.
The round also drew participation from India Quotient, Sinarmas Group, and other investors.
According to the company's announcement, the newly acquired funds will be used to develop a multi-lingual AI collection agent and to establish a network of professional field collection agents across India.
"Collection has been the ignored stepchild of lending. It is low technology, 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 and bringing back the dignity it deserves," said Ananth Shroff, CEO and Co-founder of DPDzero.
The Bengaluru-based startup was founded in 2022 by Ananth Shroff and Ranjith B. R. The startup provides an AI-powered platform that automates debt collection for lenders. Its technology enables lenders to analyse borrower repayment behavior, categorise borrowers according to risk, and engage with them through multiple communication channels to improve repayment rates.
DPDzero works with fintech companies, banks, non-banking financial companies, and microfinance institutions. Current partners include RBL Bank, IndusInd Bank, L and T Finance, and Manappuram Finance.
The firm reports that its revenue has grown sixfold over the past 18 months, with clients spanning large banks, NBFCs, and fintech firms such as Tata Capital and Moneyview.
The platform combines behavioral data, AI-driven virtual agents, and human operations to achieve better collection outcomes compared to traditional debt recovery agencies or in-house teams that have long dominated the sector.
"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," said Ryu Muramatsu, Founding Partner at GMO Venture Partners.
Keiji Matsunaga, general manager of the digital strategy department at SMBC, emphasised the growing need for compliant and consistent collections as digital lending reaches diverse markets. "By redefining debt collection through AI-driven personalization and real-time borrower protection, DPDzero is helping build a more efficient and responsible financial ecosystem," he said.
Blume Ventures partner Sajith Pai said the company has transformed from two determined founders into a fast-growing enterprise defining how debt collections in India should operate.
