Sumit Gwalani, co-founder of the neobanking startup Fi Money, has departed the company after a six-year tenure. His exit comes as Fi Money navigates significant financial challenges and undergoes a strategic pivot towards business-to-business (B2B) artificial intelligence solutions.
Gwalani announced his departure on LinkedIn, stating, “That chapter is closing. What it taught me will shape the next one. Next chapter: AI for the enterprise intelligence problems I lived at Fi.” He is reportedly working on a stealth startup focused on AI for enterprise intelligence.
Founded in 2019 by former Google Pay executives Gwalani and Sujith Narayanan, Fi Money initially launched as a digital-first neobanking platform offering savings accounts, loans, and investment products. The company successfully raised over $137 million from prominent investors, including Peak XV Partners, Falcon Edge India, Oceanview Capital Partners, Ribbit Capital, and Alpha Wave Global.
However, the startup has faced increasing financial pressures, leading to a strategic realignment. In March, Fi discontinued its banking services in partnership with Federal Bank as part of a business restructuring. This move followed an announcement in February by co-founder Narayanan that Fi was shifting its focus from some consumer-facing offerings to B2B AI and enterprise technology.
The company has been re-evaluating its long-term strategy amidst cash constraints and slowing growth. This reset includes sunsetting certain products and reducing headcount across teams. Fi Money’s pivot towards B2B AI aims to leverage its technological capabilities for startups and larger enterprises.
The challenges faced by Fi Money reflect broader issues within India’s neobanking sector. Many players, including Jupiter, Open, and Niyo, continue to rely on partnerships with traditional banks due to the lack of independent banking licenses, limiting their operational autonomy and product innovation.
Fi’s struggles also highlight difficulties in monetisation and growth within its core lending business, which had previously been a primary revenue driver. Despite initial plans to build its own NBFC infrastructure, the startup largely operated as a loan distributor for other lenders, a model that proved difficult to scale sustainably.
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