Fi Money abandons consumer neo-banking for AI-driven B2B tech services, announces layoffs

Fintech startup Fi gives up on B2C neo-banking, shifts focus to B2B tech services; plans layoffs - The Economic Times

In a LinkedIn post, cofounder Sujith Narayanan said the company's senior leadership went through a period of "honest reflection" to mobilise the firm's resources in a different direction. This will mark a departure from Fi's original mission of providing a "thoughtful and human" digital banking experience for individual consumers.Fintech startup Fi is undertaking a major restructuring exercise that will include staff layoffs and the sunsetting of several consumer-facing products, as it pivots its core business model from B2C neo-banking to B2B technology services. In a LinkedIn post, cofounder Sujith Narayanan said the company's senior leadership went through a period of "honest reflection" to mobilise the firm's resources in a different direction. This will mark a departure from Fi's original mission of providing a "thoughtful and human" digital banking experience for individual consumers. "Clarity also means letting go of what no longer fits," Narayanan stated. "As we realign, some products will be sunset and thus a few roles are being impacted." Narayanan did not specify the exact number of employees affected but emphasised that the job cuts were a result of the new organisational structure rather than a reflection of individual performance. The decision comes after years of operating in what Narayanan described as a "traditional, highly constrained ecosystem". Despite winning industry awards and securing patents for its consumer innovations, the leadership acknowledged that "not every bet paid off the way we hoped". "We asked where we do our strongest work, and where we can build something that truly lasts. The answers kept pointing in one direction -- deep technology, AI, and building complex systems for startups & large enterprises alike. That's where we consistently do our best problem-solving. And that's where Fi's next chapter will focus -- the intersection of AI and B2B," he wrote. Fi was founded as a neobanking platform by Narayanan and Sumit Gwalani, both former Google Pay executives, in 2019.

Fi Money Shifts to AI-Driven B2B Model, Pulls Consumer Products

Bengaluru-based neobanking startup Fi Money is pulling the plug on some of its consumer-facing products as part of its transition to an AI-led business-to-business (B2B) model, co-founder Sujith Narayanan said. "Fi's next chapter will focus on the intersection of AI and B2B," Narayanan said in a LinkedIn post. Founded in 2019 by former Google Pay executives Narayanan and Sumit Gwalani, Fi Money initially offered savings accounts in partnership with Federal Bank. In 2022, it expanded its offerings to provide investment options, including mutual funds and peer-to-peer investments, in partnership with LiquiLoans. Over the next few years, it also experimented with credit products such as loans against salary and mutual funds. However, not every bet paid off as planned, Narayanan said. "We've done a lot of honest reflection as a leadership team. We asked where we do our strongest work, and where we can build something that truly lasts. The answers kept pointing in one direction - deep technology, AI, and building complex systems for startups & large enterprises alike," said Fi Money's co-founder. As part of the restructuring exercise, some consumer-facing products will be shuttered, and a few roles at the company will be impacted, Narayanan said. However, he did not disclose the exact number of jobs that will be eliminated. "This is not about effort or talent. It's about how the company needs to be restructured going forward," Fi Money's co-founder said. According to data from Tracxn, Fi Money has raised $169 million in total funding to date from marquee investors such as Temasek, Ribbit Capital, Peak XV Partners, and B Capital, among others. In its early years, the startup spent heavily on user acquisition, particularly during the COVID-led lending boom. According to a Inc42 report, the neobanking platform spent Rs 132 crore on marketing costs in FY23. The company is yet to disclose its earnings for FY24 and FY25. At its peak, Fi Money had over 3 million users on its platform, primarily fueled by its personal loan and credit card businesses. On the flip side, some of its non-credit products, such as mutual funds, US stock investments, and reward programmes (Fi-Points), failed to yield meaningful returns. However, reports suggest that a lack of multiple credit partners on the supply side, rising user acquisition spends, and depleting cash reserves disrupted the company's credit strategy. On the financial front, Fi Money's net loss widened 20% to Rs 301 crore in FY23 from Rs 249.7 crore in FY22. Operating revenue grew more than 2X to Rs 38 crore, compared to Rs 17.5 crore a year earlier. The higher losses also resulted in layoffs at the company. Last year, Mint reported that Fi laid off some employees as part of a cost-cutting exercise, as the company was struggling to raise fresh capital due to poor financial performance. In May last year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) tightened rules for digital lending platforms. As per the rules, loan service providers that work with banks and other regulated lenders are prohibited from pushing specific products or using deceptive digital tactics to influence borrower choices. In 2024, the central bank updated its guidelines for non-banking financial company peer-to-peer (NBFC-P2P) lending. The guidelines instituted a ban on advertising P2P loans as investment products. Fi Money received its NBFC licence from the RBI the same year. With the RBI tightening its oversight of digital lending apps, coupled with growing competition from neobanking companies such as OPEN, Jupiter, and Slice, Fi Money was facing mounting pressure in the B2C fintech space. Its pivot to B2B tech services also comes at a time when several neobanking startups in India continue to be loss-making. For instance, OPEN reported a loss of Rs 108.8 crore in FY25, while Niyo posted a loss of Rs 78 crore.