Indian venture debt platform 8vdX expands to UK

An Indian technology-enabled venture debt platform for early stage start-ups on Wednesday announced its expansion to the UK market.

8vdX said its aim is to offer cross-border venture debt, or a type of finance, to start-ups through local entities in the new geography. By 2024, 8vdX said it aims to fund 100 start-ups with assets under management (AUM) of USD 200 million and also has plans to expand to other countries such as Singapore and Australia.

"We are delighted to announce the expansion of our operations in key markets like Singapore, UK and Australia within just eight months of launching 8vdX," said Ravi Chachra, Co-Founder of 8vdX.

"We aim to offer a cross-border venture debt solution to the start-ups in these countries so that founders can spend more time on their businesses and less time on chasing small ticket investors. Start-ups do not require the 'flip' process in order to raise cash.

''We are working to solve a significant problem that start-ups and rapidly expanding businesses with a global presence are facing, and we'll keep innovating to remove friction in the venture funding market," he said.

8vdX claims it will be able to offer early-stage start-ups bridge financing to their Series A or Series B rounds by providing venture debt to meet their goals and extend their runway.

Additionally, start-up founders will reportedly be offered the option to conveniently obtain venture loans through an "intuitive interface" and choose to repay in their local currency including British Pound, Singapore Dollars and Australian Dollars. The 8vdX loan is dubbed a ''good solution'' for early stage start-ups who need additional funding to accelerate their growth prior to raising their next round of funding at an attractive valuation, according to the company.

Founded last year by Chachra and Vijay Lavhale, 8vdX pegs itself as a provider of "flexible, founder-friendly loans".

"If the firm is unable to pay back the loan, 8vdX has the option of turning the debt into equity or continuing to be a lender, therefore it does not seek personal guarantees from the founders or force start-ups to file for bankruptcy," the company said.

"Start-ups can choose to pay interest in the form of equity or a combination of equity and cash. There are no cash flow sweeps from the start-up's bank account, and the 8vdX loan has no impact on the founders' personal credit history. 8vdX chooses start-ups for underwriting and funding approval using data-driven underwriting techniques that are driven by their KPIs and growth metrics," it added.

The company claims to have recently completed a successful USD 3 million seed fund raising round and says its marketplace has an AUM of USD 10 million, having funded more than 20 early-stage start-ups since inception.

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