BharatPe is an app that lets people log in to websites and other platforms using WhatsApp, more secure than logging in via emails or one-time passwords sent over text messages.
Tanmay Sagar, co-founder of BharatPe, left the firm with an idea: allow people to enter into websites and other platforms using WhatsApp, which is more secure than signing in via emails or one-time passwords transmitted over text messages.
That was in May 2021, long before Bhavik Koladiya, the company’s original founder and first CEO, resigned in August of last year.
Tanmay began working on the new company concept in secret mode alongside Bhavik and another BharatPe partner, Satyam Nathani. Sagar Satija, Manas Poddar, and Chirag Bhadiyadra, three additional former top BharatPe colleagues, have also joined them at OTPless. Six of the startup’s ten members are now former BharatPe senior executives.
Bhavik, who is now involved in a court battle with ex-BharatPe CEO Ashneer Grover to retrieve his shares, provided the first funding through his venture capital business Finix Partners, which was founded in May of last year.
“We jugaadus are back at it,” Bhavik says from his new office in Surat, Gujarat, using a colloquial Hindi term for those who solve problems in unconventional ways.
OTPless, based in Delhi and founded in December 2021, officially released its product in October.
According to Bhavik, it has signed up 2,000 clients, including BharatPe, PostPe, Freo, CityMall, EasyEats, GameZop, Capri Global, and Park+, and has completed over 7 million authentication requests. According to him, the startup’s pipeline includes significant financial institutions, public sector units, and unicorn businesses.
OPTless is following in the footsteps of Auth0, which revolutionised email-based login and was purchased by competitor Octa in 2021 for around $6.5 billion.
The WhatsApp path makes sense given the platform’s 2 billion worldwide users, roughly one-fourth of whom that are in India.
For the time being, OTPless is focusing on developing a solution for small and medium-sized businesses in India, many of whom are more likely to use WhatsApp than email on their phones.
Bhavik also stated that the firm had received its first external financing, a $2.7 million seed round. He refused to provide any other information.
During a dinner chat, the concept for the WhatsApp-based authentication and login mechanism arose. Tanmay came up with the idea after struggling to obtain an OTP message to connect onto a website.
The three met while studying at IIT-Delhi. Tanmay, together with Ashneer, controlled the financial side of BharatPe while Satyam and Bhavik handled product and technology.
Login authorizations by email and OTP are becoming increasingly vulnerable to phishing attempts. Furthermore, while OTPs on phone numbers were added to give an extra layer of protection for the login and verification procedure, retailers must pay about 17 paise every text message.
To authenticate a user’s identity, WhatsApp employs a variety of criteria such as phone numbers, device information, and location data. The procedure does not save any data.
OTPless, which is still in its early stages, operates on a freemium basis and pays a little charge to WhatsApp for each authorization. It intends to charge clients a monthly fee for value-added services in the future.
The startup’s current focus is on developing the product and its distribution channel, as well as bringing on new merchants.
The next step would be to provide a ‘login with Telegram’ option in India and iMessages in the US.
The squad is still under the influence of BharatPe, as evidenced by the recent dispute involving Ashneer and Bhavik. Even before that, Bhavik had to resign as CEO and from the BharatPe board when allegations arose about his conviction in a credit card fraud case in the United States.
For latest Bollywood Update Follow us on Instagram & Watch on Youtube
