Mumbai, 14th February 2025: Naffa Innovations Pvt. Ltd. (ToneTag), India’s leading voice-based payment and commerce solutions provider, has attracted an investment of INR 674 crores in its Series B2 funding round. The funding is a combination of primary and secondary capital and is led by ValueQuest S.C.A.L.E. Fund and its co-investors who have committed over 50% of the round, Iron Pillar, Elevate Inflection Capital LLC. Existing investor Elevate Innovation Partners LLC are also participating in this round. This investment will enable ToneTag to revamp customers payment experiences and accelerate its global expansion.
With over 30 million interactions per day, ToneTag is leveraging its patented soundwave protocol to deliver a seamless solution to its customers. Its stability at this scale highlights India’s prowess in creating globally competitive product companies. ToneTag counts global tech giants and leading Indian Banks amongst its customers in a B2B SaaS offering.
The company’s commitment to innovation has earned the trust of leading investors and partners. The funds raised will be directed toward scaling operations, advancing R&D efforts, recruiting quality talent, and enhancing marketing initiatives. ToneTag is also setting its sights on new markets in Asia, South America and the Middle East to bring its transformative solutions to a wider audience.
Pushkar Jauhari, MD & Head of Private Equity at ValueQuest commented, “India’s digital payment landscape has been growing rapidly, and we are excited to partner with ToneTag. ToneTag’s innovative voice-based technology coupled with regulatory and customer validation positions it well to capture market opportunity. At ValueQuest, we like backing companies that leverage new technology and commercialize offerings to address real world challenges.”
Adding to this, Ashok Ananthakrishnan, Partner of Iron Pillar said, “We have been tracking ToneTag since 2017 and are excited to see the progress made by the company in terms of its marquee customer base, growth and profitability of the business. We are delighted to partner ToneTag in its next phase of growth in the payment infrastructure ecosystem. We believe ToneTag can play a crucial role in deepening and widening the UPI user base in both feature and non-feature phones in India. Iron Pillar is also keen on partnering ToneTag in its foray into newer markets such as GCC, SouthEast Asia and South America”
Sridhar Chityala of Elevate Inflection Capital LLC and Elevate Innovation Partners LLC said, “ToneTag by Naffa innovations represents one of the most revolutionary and innovative transformation programs in the payments industry. Powered by patented Soundwave communication protocols for device-to-device engagement operating on Mobile infrastructure, democratization of payments is now a reality. ToneTag service is unique that it operates both under digital and analog protocols. Thanks to India for the UPI payment protocol that it has dedicated to the industry, digitiazation of payments is skyrocketing in India. An outstanding team, client base, and well backed investor base, we are proud to be a part of this company since 2017”
Kumar Abhishek, Founder and CEO of ToneTag, said, “This funding round is a testament to the trust our investors have in our vision and technology prowess. With their support, we are ready to take the next big leap of bringing awe-inspiring experiences in the hands of consumers and expanding our solutions globally. This is not just a milestone for ToneTag but for India’s product innovation landscape.”