30th April, 2026 | Bengaluru, India
At Z47, we backed Utkrishta Kumar at seed because he was building a different kind of fintech, India's first AI agent for consumer finance, Oolka. Not another dashboard that simply surfaces a problem, but a system of AI agents that empower users across the financial lifecycle, from diagnosing credit issues to guiding resolution end-to-end with personalized recommendations . A year on, that conviction has compounded.
Today, Oolka is announcing a $14 million Series A led by Accel, with continued participation from existing investors Z47 and Lightspeed. Meesho co-founders Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal have also come in as personal investors.
India is in the middle of a generational shift in how its consumers engage with credit. Over 420 million Indians now have a credit history, the active borrower base has grown 1.5x in four years to 28.3 crore in FY25, and 119 million individuals, up 51% year-on-year, are actively tracking their credit scores, according to CIBIL. It seems like awareness has finally caught up, but the tools have not.
Oolka was built for that gap. Founded in 2024 by Utkrishta Kumar, formerly Chief Business Officer at Meesho, the company has built a system of AI agents that act on the user's behalf across the financial lifecycle. Utkrishta is supported by a leadership bench that includes CTO Harsh Tripathi (former VP Technology, Paytm) and CFO Jatin Mazalcar (former CFO, Meesho).
The early traction validates the thesis:
- $2.5 million ARR crossed
- 6 million+ registered users
- Live partnerships with IDFC FIRST Bank, DMI Finance, L&T Finance, DSP Finance & InCred
The Series A capital will scale Oolka's AI engineering bench, extend its agents from credit into the full consumer financial stack, and deepen its lender partnerships.
Commenting on the round, founder & CEO, Utkrishta Kumar said, "Financial services in India have been product-led for too long, leaving consumers to figure things out on their own. We are flipping that model — Oolka is building AI agents that help users manage their financial life and take actions based on their context. This is just the starting point as we expand from credit to every financial decision an Indian consumer makes."
Anish Patil, Investor Z47 added "We are firm believers in AI's potential to transform how Indians access and experience financial services. Oolka's AI companion puts users in control of their credit decisions and delivers real, contextual, and transparent outcomes at an affordable price. The user love and traction reflect the deep trust Oolka has built in a short period of time. We wish the team godspeed on their mission to democratize quality financial advice for millions of Indians, and we're excited to double down on our commitment, welcoming Accel to the partnership."
Sarthak Singh, Investor at Accel said, “AI is fundamentally reshaping access to financial expertise, and we believe this shift will be most profound in India. Oolka is building the country's first intelligent financial companion: one that begins by helping consumers take control of their credit health and loan obligations, and evolves into a comprehensive financial advisor for the hundreds of millions who've never had one. What stood out to us is the depth of consumer trust — users aren’t just engaging with the product, they’re seeing tangible, real-world outcomes. That’s rare, and it’s what underpins our conviction. We at Accel are excited to partner with Utkrishta and the team as they build this category.”
"India has built strong credit infrastructure, but most consumers are still left to figure it out on their own. Most have poor credit scores and don't have enough knowledge about what's affecting their score. Oolka helps close that gap by giving borrowers real, practical guidance instead of just static information. Its AI finance companion can actively guide users through financial decisions, which is a big shift for the industry. In a country where credit penetration is still low, the opportunity is massive. Early traction speaks for itself, and we are doubling down with conviction." said Harsha Kumar, Partner at Lightspeed.
Utkrishta recently joined Avnish Bajaj on Unstarted to talk through the questions every early founder gets stuck on: how to know you're ready, how to think about PMF, and how to build an AI product that doesn't get replaced overnight. Watch the full episode:
We have been on this journey with Utkrishta and team since the very beginning, and watching Oolka go from a thesis bet to a business with real ARR and real lender partnerships in under eighteen months is what 'founders first' looks like in practice. We wish UK and the Oolka team godspeed in the chapter ahead.
About Oolka
Oolka is India's AI Agent for consumer finance. Founded in 2024 by Utkrishta Kumar, the company has built a platform that doesn't just show users their credit related problems, but resolves them on their behalf with its agentic capabilities. With over 6 million users and $2.5M in ARR, Oolka has now raised $14 million in Series A funding to expand across the full consumer financial stack. http://www.oolka.in
About Z47
Founded in 2006, Z47 is an investment Firm with more than 150 investments till date and an AUM of over $3.5 billion. Guided by a 'founders first' philosophy, Z47 is committed to backing missionary founders leading India to its goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047, prioritizing founders over markets.
Z47's focus sectors include Financial Services, Consumer, B2B, Advanced Manufacturing and Enterprise AI amongst others. We are proud partners to several Financial Services companies; select ones include Jupiter, OneCard, Oxyzo, and Scapia. Other select investments include Dailyhunt, Five Star Business Finance, OfBusiness, Ola, Ola Electric, and Razorpay. Z47 has offices in Mumbai, Bengaluru and GIFT City.
For more information, visit www.z47.com or write to newsroom@z47.com.
For more information, please contact: newsroom@z47.com
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