New Delhi, May 21 -- Centricity Wealth Tech Pvt Ltd, a wealth management company backed by venture capital firm Lightspeed India Partners and some family offices, is in active discussions with multiple investors to raise fresh capital, people with direct knowledge of the matter told VCCircle.
The Gurugram, Haryana-based company, which was started in January 2022, is looking to scoop up between $66 million and $92 million (Rs 636-887 crore) across pre-Series A and Series A rounds, the people said on the condition of anonymity.
Centricity previously raised approximately $4 million in a pre-seed round in 2022 led by the Burman Family Office at a valuation of around $20 million. In September 2024, it secured $20 million in a seed round led by Lightspeed at a $125 million valuation, with participation from the Burman and MS Dhoni family offices.
The company is now in advanced talks with two potential investors for a pre-Series A round and with at least four investors for a Series A round. While it is looking to raise $16-22 million in its pre-Series A round over the next three months, it aims to mop up $50-70 million in the Series A round, the people said.
Centricity will look to deploy a lion's share of this planned capital raise towards launching a new non-banking finance company (NBFC), the people said.
The people didn't name the potential investors in the pre-Series A round but said that, for the Series A round, the company is in talks with International Finance Corporation (IFC), Norwest Venture Partners and private equity firms Kedaara Capital and ChrysCapital. Of these, only one investor will likely finally invest in the proposed Series A round.
The entire fundraise is likely to be via a primary issue and there will be no secondary transfer of shares, the people said. Along with a new investor, Centricity's existing investors including the family offices and some wealthy individual investors, are likely to invest more on a pro-rated basis, the people said.
The potential Series A proceeds would be used in part to set up an NBFC arm, which the company expects to launch with an initial loan book of Rs 1,500 crore.
The people also said that Centricity has applied for an NBFC licence and expects regulatory approvals by the end of this year or early 2027. The NBFC would initially focus on offering loans against mutual fund units held as collateral.
The people, however, dismissed recent media reports that Centricity was looking to raise about $30 million in a Series A round from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) and Susquehanna International Group (SIG) although they acknowledged that Centricity had indeed been in talks with SIG.
Detailed emails sent by VCCircle to IFC, Kedaara, Norwest, MUFG and SIG, remained unanswered. A spokesperson for ChrysCap acknowledged receiving VCCircle's queries, but no response was forthcoming till the time of the publication of this story.
Centricity currently manages assets of the tune of Rs 13,000 crore. While half its AUM comes from around 170 ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNIs), the other half comes from retail customers. It aims to increase its assets under management to Rs 24,000 crore by March 2027.
Founded by Manu Awasthy, a veteran private banker with prior experience at Citibank, Kotak Mahindra, Standard Chartered, Deutsche Bank and IIFL Wealth, Centricity operates a dual-platform model. Its OneDigital platform targets independent financial advisors and distributors on a B2B2C basis, while its Invictus vertical offers boutique, high-touch services for ultra-high-net-worth "First Families".
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.