Prashant Pitti-led Optimo Capital raises ₹150 crore to scale property-backed lending platform

Non-banking finance company (NBFC) Optimo Capital, which focuses on digital Loan Against Property (LAP) solutions for small businesses, has raised ₹150 crore ($17.5 million) in its Series A round, led by founder Prashant Pitti along with existing investors Blume Ventures and Omnivore.

The company has also raised ₹110 crore in debt from IDFC Bank and Axis Bank, and is in talks with several PSU banks and large NBFCs for additional co-lending partnerships.

Blume Ventures Partner Ashish Fafadia said, “Prashant’s leadership and disciplined execution are rare in financial services. Optimo is building the blueprint for higher-amount and affordable loans backed by property — the future of secured lending in India.”

The funds will be used to expand Optimo’s AI infrastructure, strengthen co-lending partnerships, and extend its reach across tier-3 and semi-urban markets to help bridge India’s $530 billion MSME credit gap, it said in a statement.

Optimo operates in one of India’s most underserved lending categories—secured loans for micro and small enterprises that lack formal credit histories. According to the company, around 4.8 crore small-business owners in India (roughly 75% of the total) have no credit record but own property that could be leveraged for formal financing.

Founded by the co-founder and former managing director of online travel aggregator EaseMyTrip, Prashant Pitti, in 2023, the company uses AI-driven valuation tools and digital land records to accelerate property verification and loan approval. Optimo claims to process in-principle approvals within hours and disburse funds in under a week, compared to the traditional 4–6 weeks cycle.

“Optimo is unlocking India’s biggest asset — its land and property — by allowing owners to quickly get secured loans by simply WhatsApping us,” said Prashant Pitti, Founder and MD of Optimo Capital. “India’s mortgage-to-GDP ratio is just 9% versus over 50% in developed economies. Clearly, we are not utilising our biggest wealth to grow our GDP faster.”

Omnivore Partner Reihem Roy added, “The mid-ticket LAP market is a ₹22 lakh crore opportunity, and only 28% of that is being met today. Optimo’s tech-first model is perfectly timed to fill that gap.”

In just 18 months of operations, Optimo said it has built a ₹350 crore loan book, established branches across 56 cities in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, and employs a team of 480. The company claims it became profitable within three months of inception and has remained profitable for over 15 months.Read about our editorial guidelines and ethics policy