The archive · Money & Fintech · Strategic decision · 2013–2025
Axio's checkout-credit bet: Amazon buys the BNPL lender for ~$150-200M, closed Sept 2025
Axio bet checkout BNPL could serve Indians banks ignore; Amazon agreed to buy it for about $150-200M, completing Sept 2025.
Axio (formerly Capital Float)
What the business is
Bengaluru digital lender (started as Capital Float) offering buy-now-pay-later and small personal loans at checkout on e-commerce platforms, run as a regulated non-bank finance company.
How it started
Founded in 2013 in Bengaluru by Sashank Rishyasringa and Gaurav Hinduja as CapFloat/Capital Float, the company lent to SMEs through a tech-led loan-origination and underwriting platform. India's low credit-card penetration and banks' reluctance to make small loans profitable left most consumers without checkout financing.
What happened
In 2018 the founders bought 60% of personal-finance app Walnut and moved into consumer lending, rebranding under the Axio name in 2022. Axio pioneered BNPL with online merchants and built a six-year partnership powering Amazon Pay Later; it reported 10M+ customers, AUM of ₹2,200 crore, and FY24 losses narrowed 86% to ₹18 crore on income of ₹384 crore (Entrepreneur India). Amazon, which first took an 8% stake in 2018 and added a $20M Smbhav Venture Fund investment in August 2024, signed an acquisition agreement in December 2024.
How it ended up
After RBI approval, Amazon completed the acquisition on September 4, 2025, making Axio a 100%-owned subsidiary of Amazon India while keeping its leadership team; people familiar with the transaction put its size at $150-200M, among Amazon's larger deals in India.
Background
Axio began in 2013 in Bengaluru as Capital Float, founded by Sashank Rishyasringa and Gaurav Hinduja to lend to small businesses with a technology-led underwriting platform. With India's credit-card penetration low and banks treating small-ticket loans as unprofitable, most consumers and merchants had no access to credit at the moment of purchase.
The company's decisive bet came in 2018, when it acquired a 60% stake in the personal-finance app Walnut and moved into consumer lending, rebranding under the Axio name in 2022. Axio pioneered buy-now-pay-later with online merchants and became the engine behind Amazon Pay Later, a partnership that lasted more than six years and, Amazon says, unlocked credit for over 10 million customers.
By the time of the sale Axio reported serving more than 10 million customers with AUM of ₹2,200 crore, FY24 total income of ₹384 crore and losses narrowed 86% to ₹18 crore. Amazon had been an investor since an 8% stake in 2018, added a $20M investment through its Smbhav Venture Fund in August 2024, and signed an agreement to acquire the company in December 2024.
The acquisition, valued by people familiar with the matter at $150-200 million, received Reserve Bank of India approval and closed on September 4, 2025, making Axio a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon India under its existing leadership. Amazon framed the deal around a statistic from its own executives: only one in six Indian customers has access to checkout financing today.
What has to be true
- Traditional banks found small consumer and merchant loans unprofitable, leaving checkout-time credit almost nonexistent in India.
- Axio's regulated NBFC license let it originate and hold credit itself rather than depend on a bank partner.
- The 2018 Walnut acquisition gave Axio a consumer app and the decision to specialize in fast, checkout-time BNPL underwriting.
- Six years inside Amazon Pay Later proved the model at scale: over 10 million customers reached before the acquisition closed.
- Amazon bought the capability it already depended on, turning a startup into a core part of its India lending strategy.
What can be applied
A distribution partner that already owns the checkout can turn an underwriting capability into a strategic asset — the acquirer buys the license and the model, not just the loan book.
Aftermath
As of September 4, 2025, Axio operates as a 100%-owned subsidiary of Amazon India with its co-founders and leadership team in place. Amazon said the purchase strengthens Amazon Pay Later's checkout financing and term-loan capabilities and positions it to expand lending to more customers and small businesses; YourStory reported plans for BNPL, term consumer loans and working-capital lines for marketplace sellers. The founders framed the next step as taking digital lending to the next 100 million Indians.
Sources
- Amazon to buy Indian BNPL startup Axio for over $150M
- Amazon to Acquire Bengaluru-Based Digital Lending Firm Axio
- Amazon acquires NBFC axio to deepen embedded finance
- Amazon completes acquisition of Axio, strengthening its portfolio in India
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