With a new $120 million investment led by TPG, U.K.-based fintech Tide has joined the unicorn club. The startup currently serves over 1.6 million micro and small businesses worldwide, with over half of them situated in India, which is also its largest and fastest-growing region.
The eight-year-old startup is valued at $1.5 billion in the new round, which consists of a combination of primary and secondary investment, though the company refuses to specify the precise split. Employees, early angels, and a few minority investors are among those who sell shares. Through The Rise Fund, a multi-sector impact vehicle that has invested in more than 85 mission-driven businesses, TPG supported the round. Apax Digital Funds, an existing investor, also took part.
Globally, micro and small enterprises, including contractors, freelancers, and solopreneurs, spend a significant amount of time on business management tasks like accounting, invoicing, taxes, securing loans, and managing payments and expenses. While traditional banks and fintech startups offer services to this segment, most solutions are not purpose-built for their unique needs. Tide aims to change that with its unified business platform, offering tailored tools such as accounting integrations, invoicing, business loans, asset finance, payroll, expense cards, and even company registration.
Initially launched in the U.K. in 2017, Tide expanded into India in December 2022 to tap into the country’s vast base of small enterprises — around 60 million micro and small businesses employing over 250 million people, per the recent Indian government data. Since its entry, Tide has onboarded more than 800,000 Indian businesses, which it refers to as “members” — surpassing its U.K. member base of nearly 800,000. In the U.K., where Tide is already profitable, the company serves around 14% of the country’s small and medium business market.
The drive toward formalization is very strong. Oliver Prill, the CEO of Tide, stated in an interview that money is our worst enemy rather than any rivals.
There is some controversy in India since, despite a slight slowdown, the growth rate is still incredibly strong. The growth rate is far lower in continental Europe and the United Kingdom, he told TechCrunch.
According to Tide, over four million micro and small enterprises are established in India each year. These companies usually look for assistance with things like obtaining official credit, using the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which is supported by the Indian government, to make payments, and negotiating the Goods and Services Tax, which is the nation’s indirect tax structure. They are served by Tide’s digital platform, which is accessible as an iOS and Android app.
Gurjodhpal Singh, CEO of Tide India, told TechCrunch that the U.K. startup is already seeing strong demand from tier-3 cities and beyond—smaller, less urbanized towns with limited digital and financial infrastructure—and anticipates onboarding one million businesses in India by the end of this year.
On its platform, Tide collaborates with about 25 lenders in India to provide small businesses with financing, suggesting partners according to the requirements of each company. Additionally, the business provides services like bill payment, bank transfers, fixed deposits, and ATM cash withdrawals.
Tide began in Germany in May 2024 and entered France earlier this month, joining the U.K. and India. The startup provides local language support along with a customized experience for each area.
With the fresh funding, Tide plans to expand further geographically, enhance its product, and invest in agentic AI.
The startup covers a range of finance and admin services already, but there are still some gaps to fill. “In the next few months and quarters, you’ll see some major developments in that area,” Prill said, referring to upcoming product launches enabled by the latest funding round.
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