Industry Odisha Bureau, Sep 05: AdvaRisk is exploring a $20-25 million fundraise from potential investors. Fundamentum is among those considered for this early-stage discussion. The startup helps banks detect fraud and assess borrower risk. This comes as Indian banks confront costlier fraud incidents.
Talks remain preliminary and could still change significantly. AdvaRisk is also discussing the round with other investors. Fundamentum, backed by Nandan Nilekani and Sanjeev Aggarwal, invests in startups. Its portfolio includes KukuFM, Wishlink, AppsForBharat and Flexiloans.
Banks increasingly need stronger fraud-detection and recovery technology. Fraud cases fell to 10,114 during FY26, RBI reported. This compares with 23,722 cases in FY25, and 35,800 in FY24. Yet amounts involved rose sharply despite fewer reported incidents.
Fraud amounts reached ₹48,021 crore in FY26, RBI’s report showed. FY25 recorded ₹32,803 crore, up from ₹11,013 crore in FY24. Fewer cases clearly do not mean lower financial exposure. This divergence underscores growing stakes for banking-fraud technology providers.
Indian banks are also strengthening cyber defences against evolving threats. Specialised hiring and expanded insurance coverage are underway. Concerns persist that AI tools could enable faster cyberattacks. State Bank of India has begun digitizing stressed-asset tracking systems.
AdvaRisk, founded in 2016, targets fraud detection and borrower-risk assessment. It builds databases of real estate linked to defaulters. This helps lenders identify recoverable assets against unpaid dues. The company also automates red-flag identification within lender accounts.
AdvaRisk claims relationships with ICICI Bank, SBI and IDBI Bank. Punjab National Bank and AU Small Finance Bank are also cited. These remain claimed relationships, not independently verified contracts. According to Tracxn, AdvaRisk raised $7.89 million previously.
That funding came across four equity rounds, Tracxn noted. Founders Vishal Sharma and Rahul Metkar hold roughly 44% combined. Revenue grew from ₹6.7 crore in FY23 to ₹11.8 crore. However, losses also widened from ₹4 crore to ₹10.7 crore.
Other shareholders include Sprout Venture Partners, ICICI Bank and Big Capital. Fundamentum’s potential interest follows its ₹3,000-crore Frontier Advisors fund launch. That fund targets growth-stage AI and frontier technology startups. AdvaRisk’s fundraise reflects broader demand for banking-risk technology across India’s expanding fintech and financial-services landscape.
