At $1.2bn, Juspay first unicorn of the year

MUMBAI: Payments infrastructure startup Juspay has raised $50 million in funding from new investor WestBridge Capital at a valuation of $1.2 billion, becoming the first unicorn of the year.The investment includes a mix of primary and secondary transactions, the company said in a statement on Friday. In a secondary deal, a firm’s shares change hands among investors, allowing early backers to seek partial or full exit from their investments. “The secondary component provides liquidity to early investors and employees holding esops – the second such opportunity Juspay has enabled within a year,” the startup said without disclosing details.Founded in 2012, Juspay operates in the enterprise payment solutions space, powering payments for merchants and banks worldwide. The company, backed by blue-chip investors SoftBank and Accel had bagged $60 million in funding led by Kedaara Capital in April 2025, at a valuation of $900 million. The startup, which counts Google, Amazon and Flipkart among its clients, claims to process more than 300 million daily transactions with annualised total payment volumes exceeding $1 trillion. While there has been a funding revival for startups with several small and mid-sized deals in the works, investors continue to be selective, writing cheques for firms that have a sound business model and are being able to show growth.