Perfios: How This Fintech Giant is Shaping the Future of Financial Data

In a world where the internet connects people, places, and devices, data is the pulse of modern life. In this age of automation, where speed and accuracy are paramount, the ability to handle massive data flows efficiently is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. The demand for real-time analysis, risk management, and pricing solutions has skyrocketed, pushing tech companies to develop smarter, more agile platforms. That’s where Perfios comes into play, offering a suite of solutions simplifying this complexity for global financial institutions. With fresh investment, Perfios has become the second unicorn of 2024, crossing the $1 billion valuation mark.

Perfios - Company Highlights

Perfios - About
Perfios - Industry
Perfios - Founders and Team
Perfios - Startup Story
Perfios - Mission and Vision
Perfios - Name, Tagline and Logo
Perfios - Business Model
Perfios - Revenue Model
Perfios - Challenges Faced
Perfios - Funding and Investors
Perfios - Mergers and Acquisitions
Perfios - Growth
Perfios - Awards and Achievements
Perfios - Competitors
Perfios - Future Plans

Perfios - About

Founded in 2008, Perfios is a platform that excels in extracting, categorizing, and analyzing thousands of data types in real time. This platform is built to adapt, learn, and grow the businesses they support. Whether it's decoding encrypted traffic or handling data from various entities across geographies, Perfios brings clarity to complexity.

Perfios is proud to say that they’ve been a trusted partner to over a million users, offering them secure, agile, and scalable solutions that transform their digital journeys. A track record of zero security incidents speaks volumes about Perfios’ commitment to privacy and data security.

Perfios - Industry

The fintech industry is booming, and India is leading the charge as one of the fastest-growing markets globally. Valued at $584 billion in 2022, the Indian fintech market is expected to soar to $1.5 trillion by 2025. Within that, the digital lending sector alone was worth $270 billion in 2022 and is projected to hit INR 4.5-5 trillion by 2028.

Meanwhile, the SaaS market has seen explosive growth over the past decade, with no signs of slowing down. Globally, it’s expected to reach $307.3 billion by 2026 and an astounding $908.21 billion by 2030. The surge is fueled by the need for remote work solutions, the rise of cloud-based technologies, and the demand for scalable, cost-efficient software.

What's more, SaaS has now evolved to offer a strong line of defense against security threats like data breaches, thanks to its enterprise-level security measures and built-in disaster recovery protocols.

Coming a long way since their early days in the financial sector, Perfios now proudly serves over 1000 lenders in India—including all of the top 10 banks, along with a majority of NBFCs and Fintechs. Their success in India has set the stage for global expansion, where their customizable ML algorithms seamlessly adapt to any country's statement formats, making data decisions a breeze. They’ve tailored their processes to fit the specific needs of each region and client, ensuring accuracy and efficiency. As India’s digital landscape continues to boom, with projections of the digital signature market growing at an impressive CAGR of 27.5% by 2026, they’re excited about the future and ready to ride this wave of growth.

Perfios - Founders and Team

V.R. Govindarajan and Debashish Chakraborty founded the company in 2008.

V.R. Govindarajan (GOVI)

Govi, Perfios’ co-founder and Executive Chairman, is the driving force behind the vision of making them the most trusted name in personal finance software in India. With over 32 years of experience in the IT industry across the US and India, he’s no stranger to innovation. Before Perfios, Govi co-founded Aztecsoft, a pioneer in Offshore Product Development, and has had stints at tech giants like Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) and IBM, specializing in database technology. Armed with an M.S. in Computer Science from Massachusetts University and a B.E. in Electrical and Electronics from IISc Bangalore, Govi stays actively involved in the tech community, frequently speaking at both Indian and international conferences.

Debashish Chakraborty (DChak)

Debashish Chakraborty is the Co-Founder and Board Member of Perfios. Chakraborty brings great experience to his role, having spent 22 years in the software industry. After completing his B.Tech at IIT Kharagpur and M.Tech at IIT Kanpur, he dove into a career that took him from optimizing compilers at Wipro to pioneering software frameworks and application servers at Aztec.

In the early days at Wipro, he worked on optimizing compilers, a market boosted by limited foreign competition due to government policies. Later, he joined IBM India, where he rotated between the IBM T.J. Watson and Almaden Research Labs, focusing on device drivers and database technologies. By 1997, he joined Govi as one of the founding members at Aztec, where he thrived as an architect, creating frameworks for developers.

At Perfios, Mr. Chakraborty leads the team in building the company’s innovative product line.

Sabyasachi Goswami

Sabyasachi Goswami is the CEO of Perfios. With over 20 years in financial services, fintech, and product technology, Mr. Sabyasachi Goswami brings expertise in P&L management, business development, business strategy, and product development. He is an alumnus of Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies and an executive professional LEAD graduate from Stanford Graduate School of Business. Sabyasachi has led strategic roles in Retail and SME Banking, overseeing major business acquisitions and private equity investments.

His strengths in enterprise sales, consultative selling, and relationship-building have driven significant business growth. Known for launching new products, assessing risks, and executing marketing strategies, he has consistently met market targets. Dedicated to leadership development, he nurtures future leaders, emphasizes an entrepreneurial mindset, and excels in collaboration, earning multiple awards for his achievements.

Rajesh Kini

Perfios has appointed Rajesh Kini as its Chief Financial Officer! He served as CFO of Infosys' product subsidiary and led their Corporate Accounting Group.  With over 25 years of financial leadership experience, Rajesh is well-equipped to align with Perfios' vision of sustainable growth. He has a strong track record in optimizing financial performance, improving margins, and enhancing operational efficiency.

A Chartered Accountant, Rajesh holds a bachelor's degree in commerce from St. Joseph College of Commerce, Bangalore. His expertise will be key in guiding Perfios through its global expansion.

Perfios - Startup Story

Perfios is the brainchild of Mr. VR Govindarajan and Mr. Debasish Chakraborty, who launched the company back in 2008 with a shared vision for simplifying financial management. Govindarajan initially served as CEO, while Chakraborty, a computer science graduate from IIT Kanpur, brought his tech expertise, and Santosh contributed his industry insights. They envisioned Perfios as a "Personal Finance One Stop," helping individuals track and manage their finances—hence the name Perfios.

As they dug deeper into the market, the co-founders recognized a greater opportunity within the B2B space. Pivoting in 2013, they channeled their expertise into developing solutions for banks and financial institutions, transitioning Perfios into a sophisticated B2B software provider. By keeping the team lean and relying solely on angel investors, they prioritized impactful, innovative tools over rapid scaling.

Perfios saw some key leadership changes over the years. In August 2022, Govindarajan was made executive chairman, and a senior leader within Perfios, Goswami, stepped in as CEO. By 2023, Chakraborty stepped back from his role as CTO, making room for Sumit Nigam from Tata Digital. While Govindarajan and Chakraborty continue as board members, Santosh is no longer a part of Perfios.

By 2014, Perfios had developed technology to process various document formats like PDFs, turning them into structured data for companies to use efficiently. This innovation paved the way for Perfios Insights, a comprehensive suite that enables banks and lenders to verify applicants' income and employment details—a critical step for loan and credit approvals. The strategic shift cemented Perfios as a trusted partner for financial institutions, providing smart, reliable solutions tailored to the industry’s needs.

Perfios - Mission and Vision

At Perfios Software Solutions, their mission is to create an ecosystem where every financial decision is powered by real-time data. They are dedicated to building an exceptional suite of products tailored to their expertise and geographic focus. From improving security and legal compliance to reducing errors and promoting sustainability, they ensure seamless integration of financial services into their customers' everyday lives. Perfios is not just reshaping how money is managed; they’re simplifying it—making transactions easier, more secure, and incredibly convenient. Understanding and meeting customer preferences is at the heart of everything Perfios does, helping them thrive in the highly competitive financial landscape.

Perfios - Name, Tagline and Logo

Perfios' logo, under the “Lead/Leap” positioning, symbolizes its evolution into a global tech platform, supporting the entire customer lifecycle from onboarding to underwriting. The flame arrow reflects progress, innovation, and focused energy, highlighting Perfios' mission to drive financial inclusion for billions. This identity underscores their commitment to building institutions and spreading expertise and impact.

Perfios' new brand identity, "Lead/Leap," reflects bold steps and trailblazing innovation. It’s all about a forward-thinking attitude, summed up as "leading with brilliance, pushing beyond boundaries."

Perfios - Business Model

Perfios kicked off its journey by launching the first cloud-hosted, fully automated Personal Finance Management solutions. They then went on to build the Perfios data platform, which remains unmatched in its scope and capability. Additionally, their platform leverages cutting-edge machine learning techniques to provide deep data analysis tailored to each customer’s needs, delivering reports that are uniquely customized. Privacy and security are core to their design philosophy; where they ensure that no Personally Identifiable Information or account details are stored, keeping their customers' data safe and secure. Perfios' lead generation taps into data from around 4 crore MCA and non-MCA registered entities, allowing for large-scale lead generation and effective lead qualification for B2B businesses. How?

Relying only on inbound leads and existing connections can slow down how well your new products catch on in the market. Whereas, outbound lead generation means reaching out to potential customers who may not know about your product yet. It involves making calls or sending messages to spark interest and build a strong sales pipeline.

Here, you might end up pitching to people who aren't that interested, no matter how long you spend on it. That's where focused outbound lead generation with Perfios comes in handy. It’s a great way to get higher conversions faster.

Perfios - Revenue Model

• Consumer Lending Solutions: Customizable, plug-and-play solutions for income and employment verification. Automates credit assessment and decision-making for financial institutions and lenders.
• SME Lending: Tools to evaluate the financial health of SMEs and corporates seeking credit. Assesses creditworthiness, and payment capacity and identifies potential lending risks.
• Wealth Management: A leading personal finance management app that consolidates financial information into a single dashboard. Enables financial institutions to offer targeted advice and cross/upsell products, and helps customers achieve their financial goals.
• Account Aggregator: Solutions that aggregate and analyze both structured and unstructured data, providing deep analytics and insights.
• Specified Solutions: Specialized tools for digital transformation in lending processes. Includes InDigize, an intelligent solution that speeds up the processing of unstructured data and eliminates slow, error-prone manual tasks. Additionally, Perfios generates revenue through multiple streams, including software coding and maintenance services, as well as license and subscription fees.

Perfios Financials

Perfios' operating revenue grew by 199% from INR 136 crore in FY22 to INR 407 crore in FY23. Total expenses increased by 147%, rising from INR 156 crore to INR 386 crore. The company moved from a loss of INR 16.8 crore in FY22 to a profit of INR 7.8 crore in FY23, marking a significant financial turnaround.

In FY24, Perfios' operating revenue increased to INR 557.8 crore, up 37% from INR 407 crore in FY23. Total expenses also saw an increase of about 28.3%, reaching INR 495.5 crore in FY24 from INR 386.4 crore in FY23. Perfios' profit after tax (PAT) saw an 820% increase to INR 71.67 crore in FY24 from INR 7.8 crore in FY23.

Perfios - Challenges Faced

At Perfios, a few big challenges have to be dealt with as they work to stay ahead in the financial tech game. One of their main hurdles is figuring out whether to team up with just one lender or go for multiple partnerships. Sticking with a single lender might limit their growth because it narrows their potential borrower pool. But if they partner with several lenders, they get more chances for business, although it comes with its own set of problems.

The integration process with multiple lenders can be tricky. They tackle tech issues like security, data management, and making sure their systems work well together. Ensuring data safety is a big deal, so they have to use strong encryption and set up solid network security. Plus, the whole integration process takes a lot of time and requires them to handle regulatory requirements and manage resources carefully.

Perfios - Funding and Investors

Perfios Software Solutions has raised a total of $441.2 million in funding over 7 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Mar 13, 2024, from a Series D round. Perfios has caught the attention of five key investors: Warburg Pincus is Perfios' largest shareholder with a 41% stake, while Bessemer holds 32.1%, showing strong investor confidence. Teachers’ Venture Growth (Darius Vakil, Deepak Dara, and Kelvin Yu) and Kedaara Capital are the latest to back them. 

Their latest funding boost of $229 million came from a Series D round in March 2024, which is keeping them well-equipped to keep growing!

Perfios - Mergers and Acquisitions

Perfios acquired Chennai-based Fego.ai, bringing in their 30-member team. Co-founders S. Kumar Srivatsan and S. Kumar Srikanthan joined Perfios to lead product and strategy, respectively.

They also snapped up Karza Technologies, a banking and financial intelligence solution provider.

Perfios - Growth

Perfios is on a serious growth journey! Today, Perfios has grown to become the largest SaaS-based B2B fintech software company in India, serving over 800 financial institutions with a product suite of more than 75 solutions across 18 countries, including Southeast Asia, the Middle East, APAC, and MENA regions.

In FY22, the company reported $17.5 million in revenue and has maintained profitability for the past five years. According to Goswami, Perfios is actively exploring inorganic growth opportunities to expand into new verticals and geographies and is open to raising future VC funding to support acquisitions. To date, it has secured $452 million in funding from top investors like Warburg Pincus and Bessemer Venture Partners.

With plans to supercharge their tech stack, they’re ready to transform the entire customer experience across banking, insurance, and embedded commerce. Backed by TVG’s investment, Perfios is gearing up for even bigger things ahead, taking their international growth to the next level.

Powers 90% of India’s financial institutions, handling 8.2 billion data points and 1.7 billion transactions yearly. Strong data capabilities helped major Indian banks offer same-day loans and instant approvals.

Expanding into insurance (fraud detection) and HR tech (background verification) sectors with AI-powered solutions.

Perfios ranks 3rd among its 300 competitors.

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Perfios - Awards and Achievements

Perfios has been awarded with below accolades:

• Named "Best Fintech in Value Added Services" by the BT-KPMG jury.Disruptive Innovation Award for their Health Claims Analysis Solution and PerSieve at Elets Insurance Innovation in Mumbai.
• Deloitte Fast 50 Award winner in the FinTech category.
• Named Best Lending Tech Initiative of the Year at the ETBSFI Excellence Awards.

Perfios - Competitors

Some of Perfios' key competitors with their market share are as below:

• QuickBooks with 45.24%
• NetSuite with 10.53%
• Cognos with 6.98% market share

Perfios - Future Plans

Perfios is constantly upgrading its smart Document Processing platform with fresh machine learning models to handle all kinds of financial documents and spot fraud. As a B2B SaaS company in the BFSI sector, their cutting-edge decision-making solutions help make real-time decisions for everything from small transactions to major financial moves.

They’ve been growing steadily and plan to use this investment to boost digital transformation for their partners.

Focused on financial inclusion, Perfios aims to provide access to financial services for billions globally.

Perfios processes 1.7 billion transactions annually and handles $36 billion in assets under management, delivering 8.2 billion data points to banks and financial institutions every year!

FAQs

What is Perfios?

Perfios is a platform that excels in extracting, categorizing, and analyzing thousands of data types in real-time. This platform is built to adapt, learn, and grow the businesses they support.

Who is the founder of Perfios?

V.R. Govindarajan and Debashish Chakraborty founded the company in 2008.

Is Perfios a Unicorn company?

Yes, Perfios is the second unicorn of 2024 with a $1 billion valuation.