General Catalyst recently led a $63M bet in the Indian travel payments market

Scapia, an Indian startup that integrates travel bookings with co-branded credit cards and mobile payments, has raised $63 million in a funding round led by General Catalyst, with existing investors Peak XV Partners and Z47 also participating. The deal comes despite a broader decline in fintech activity.

The total equity rounds give the startup a post-funding valuation of more than $500 million, according to a source familiar with the matter, more than doubling its valuation from about $200 million in April 2025. The four-year outfit has raised $126 million so far from investors.

That General Catalyst, one of America’s leading companies, is leading the round suggests that India’s tourism-focused fintech market is attracting more attention beyond its region.

The funding comes as investors around the world grow more selective in fintech bets after years of aggressive funding. In India, fintech funding remained very low in Q1 2026, while the number of deals fell by more than half from a year ago as investors focused more capital on fewer, larger deals, according to a recent Tracxn report. In contrast, the US saw fintech funding grow significantly, driven by large rounds of several companies in areas including AI and crypto infrastructure.

Investors are betting Scapia can capitalize on growing demand among young Indians for apps that include payments and travel bookings. Founded in 2022 by ex-Flipkart CEO Anil Goteti, the startup’s app integrates branded credit cards, UPI-based payments, travel booking, and commerce in one place. UPI — India’s government-backed real-time payments network and the world’s most widely used digital payment system — is fundamental to how young Indians move money today.

Over the past year, Scapia said its domestic flight bookings have grown nearly six-fold, while hotel bookings have risen nearly eight-fold, with India’s smaller cities driving a growing share of demand. Customer growth has also increased sevenfold over the same period, the startups said, without disclosing the exact figures.

Scapia has seen strong adoption among younger travelers who want flexible travel rewards and integrated payment options instead of traditional credit card benefits, Goteti said in an interview. He added that one-third of users now prefer airport food and shopping rewards to lounge access.

“The lounges are getting very crowded,” Goteti told TechCrunch. “People are actually looking for entertainment outside of the living room.”

Scapia also offers a dual network branded credit card that uses both Visa and RuPay – India’s government-backed payment network – allowing users to access card payments and UPI-linked credit through a single statement, line of credit, and payment flow. In addition, Federal Bank and BOBCARD are the first partners to offer co-branded cards and plan to add another bank partner in the coming months, Goteti said.

The Bengaluru-based startup operates in the growing market of tourism-focused financial products in India, competing with companies such as Niyo – another Indian startup that combines banking and tourism features – and travel platform Ixigo, while global fintech firms including Revolut are also eyeing the country.

Scapia, which has about 250 employees, said the new funding will improve its product offering and hire more AI-focused engineering and product talent as competition heats up in India’s consumer fintech market.