According to three persons with knowledge of the situation, GenWise, a firm created by former executives of the digital payment network BharatPe, has raised money in its initial round. An online network for senior Indians and their families, the Delhi-based startup.
Matrix and a few other individuals from the financial industry led a $3.5 million financing in GenWise. The firm is attempting to build covertly now that the financing is already closed.
Even in the absence of their younger family members, GenWise offers elders a trustworthy friend. While allowing seniors the independence to utilise technology and obtain personalised solutions on their own, it allows younger members of the family keep in touch with their parents or senior relatives.
The company’s website states that GenWise would deliver solutions in the areas of banking, fitness, commerce, payments, and social networking in addition to offering personalised sessions for seniors to assist them in utilising current mobile services and everyday tasks.
Top executives from BharatPe, including Vijay Aggarwal, CTO, Rajat Jain, CPO for lending and consumer goods, Geetanshu Singla, vice president of technology, and Nehul Malhotra, head of consumer loan platform PostPe, left the company in November. Aggarwal is working on his own proposal, according to insiders, while Malhotra, Singla, and Jain have joined forces to start GenWise.
In an interview, GenWise’s Malhotra acknowledged the seed round but noted that the valuation given in the report is “quite low as compared to reality.”
Elder care businesses including SeniorWorld, 60Plus India, GetSetUp, ElderAid Wellness, and Goodfellows are active in the industry and might directly or indirectly compete with GenWise while the latter is functioning surreptitiously.
The trio has added GenWise to the list of former BharatPe executives who have taken on entrepreneurial endeavours after leaving the company. Ashneer Grover, a former co-founder of BharatPe and its MD, and his wife Madhuri Jain just introduced CrickPe, a platform for fantasy sports.
Another firm co-founder, Bhavik Koladiya, has since joined SaaS startup OTP less as CEO. Suhail Sameer, the former CEO of BharatPe, allegedly intends to start his own venture capital company after leaving the Tiger Global-backed business.
