HIGHLIGHTS-
- Ruchika Kalra & Ashish Mohapatra have become India’s first unicorn couple.
- They own enterprises worth more than $1 billion each.
- Oxyzo’s chief executive officer is Kalra, while OfBusiness’s CEO is Mohapatra.
It is well said, when a couple grows, they grow altogether. Meet India’s first unicorn couple, Ruchika Kalra & Ashish Mohapatra. The duo has been trending on the internet creating buzz all around. They have become India’s first couple to own enterprises worth more than $1 billion each. With this, they are now being called the ‘Unicorn couple’.
Oxyzo Financial Services, a digital lending company is co-founded by Ruchi Kalra. The company announced that it has raised $200 million in its first round of funding. Oxyzo Financial Services is backed by Alpha Wave Global, Tiger Global Management, Norwest Venture Partners, and others. Less than a year ago, her husband Asish Mohapatra’s OfBusiness, had attained the same valuation.
Ruchika & Ashish, The Unicorn Couple
Ruchika Kalra, 38, and Ashish Mohapatra, 41, met while working at McKinsey & Co. Kalra and Mohapatra are both Indian Institute of Technology alumni. Both startups are profitable, which is a rare achievement for a young startup. Oxyzo’s chief executive officer is Kalra, while OfBusiness’s CEO is Mohapatra.
Oxyzo was also funded by Matrix Partners and Creation Investments is one of the largest Series A deals in India’s startup industry.
Oxyzo, an extension of the Unicorn couple’s initial venture
Kalra, Mohapatra, and three others founded Oxyzo in 2017 as an extension of the couple’s initial venture, OfBusiness, which they began with three others in early 2016. In a credit-starved country where small and medium enterprises struggle to access working capital, Oxyzo utilizes technology to analyze data and provide purchase finance to companies, giving out cash flow-based loans.
Oxyzo is a supply chain analytics company with over 500 workers and a data warehouse. Since its founding, it has disbursed approximately $2 billion in loans and has been profitable.
Ofbusiness
OfBusiness is formerly known as OFB Tech Pvt. The company supplies raw materials including steel, fuel, food grains, and industrial chemicals to small and medium-sized firms. According to Mohapatra, it was valued at over $1 billion when SoftBank and others invested in April of last year. The startup’s valuation hit around $5 billion in December when SoftBank and others invested additional money in it.
Journey of the unicorn couple
Kalra, a partner at McKinsey, quit the firm to start a business with her husband, who had departed Matrix, a venture capital firm. She stated, “We both felt an urge to get out and make something.” According to Kalra, the two companies operate independently, with distinct offices and personnel. They do, however, target similar businesses like manufacturing and infrastructure subcontracting.
Investor Norwest referred to Kalra as India’s “first female creator of a profitable, fintech unicorn” in a statement.
