Clear raises funding from Robinhood's Aparna Chennapragada, others

By Joseph Rai

  • 13 Jan 2022
Credit: 123RF.com

Clear, an online taxation and fintech software provider that was formerly named ClearTax, on Thursday said that it has raised an undisclosed funding from global product and engineering veterans including Aparna Chennapragada, chief product officer of American stock trading platform Robinhood.

Surojit Chatterjee, chief product officer of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, and Balaji Srinivasan, former chief technology officer of Coinbase and former General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, have also invested in their individual capacities, said Clear in a statement.

Archit Gupta, CEO, Clear, said in the statement that the investment from the individuals comes as a significant endorsement for Clear and the transformation the company has undergone over the last year to expand into international markets.

Clear has expanded its operations in Saudi Arabia with the launch of e-invoicing solutions. The company also plans to enter other parts of the Middle East and Europe soon, it added.

In a significant funding round last year in October, Clear raised $75 million as a part of its Series C fundraise led by Kora Capital. Stripe, Alua Capital, and Think Investments participated in that round. The fundraise valued Clear at around $700 million, a person aware of the talks told Mint then.

Clear has two major lines of business. Through its consumer offering, ‘BLACK’, the platform allows individuals to file income tax returns and build wealth through investment in mutual funds. It also provides a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform to corporates helping them pay GST bills, create electronic invoices and pay bills digitally.  

It also provides its software to over a million small and medium businesses (SMBs) helping them file their GST, and allowing them to plan their taxes, while providing payment reconciliation support.