Tide Raises $120M, Joins UK Unicorn Club at $1.5B Valuation
Funding Round Led by TPG and Apax
Tide, the London-headquartered digital banking services beginup, has secured $120 million in fresh funding, bringing its valuation to $1.5 billion and officially joining the ranks of the UK’s fintech unicorns. The round was led by global private equity firm TPG and its impact investing division, The Rise Fund, alongside participation from existing investor Apax Digital Funds.
The funding is a mix of primary and secondary investment, including share sales by employees, ahead angels, and some minority investors. With the capital, Tide aims to accelerate international expansion, deepen product development, and invest heavily in agentic artificial intelligence (AI) to transform business management services for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
“Securing this investment from TPG is a major milestone for Tide and a strong endorsement of our growth as the leading global business management platform serving 1.6 million members worldwide,” said Oliver Prill, CEO of Tide. TPG partner Yemi Lalude, head of the firm’s Europe, Middle East, and Africa operations, will also join Tide’s board, reinforcing investor involvement in its next stage of growth.
Investor Takeaway
Expanding Beyond the UK
Founded in 2017, Tide built its reputation in the UK by offering SMEs digital-first banking services, covering accounting, invoicing, payroll, and company registration. The company now serves around 14% of the UK’s SME market and has achieved profitability at home. But international expansion is where Tide views its largegest opportunities.
Since entering India in December 2022, Tide has onboarded over 800,000 Indian businesses, surpassing its UK base of nahead 800,000. India has rapidly become Tide’s largest and quickest-growing market, accounting for more than half of its global members. According to government data, India has roughly 60 million micro and small enterprises employing over 250 million people, providing Tide with an enormous addressable market.
“Our largegest enemy is cash, not competitors,” Prill said, underscoring the push to formalize millions of cash-based enterprises. Tide estimates about 4 million new small businesses launch in India every year, many of which need assist with credit access, UPI-based payments, and tax compliance under the excellents and Services Tax system. Tide provides them with credit facilitation, bill payment services, expense cards, and ATM withdrawals, working with 25 local lenders to tailor answers.
“In India, growth has sluggished a little bit compared to 2022–23, but it remains hugely impressive compared to Europe or the UK,” Prill told TechCrunch. Tide India CEO Gurjodhpal Singh added that demand is especially strong from tier-3 cities and beyond, where digital financial infrastructure is still emerging. Tide expects to reach 1 million Indian members by year-end 2025.
Competition and the Path Forward
Tide joins UK fintech peers like Revolut and Monzo in the unicorn club. Revolut is reported to be valued at nahead $65 billion in its latest funding round, highlighting the scale of opportunity for digital-first banking platforms. Unlike Revolut’s global consumer focus, Tide has carved out a niche by targeting SMEs — a market often underserved by both traditional banks and mainstream fintechs.
Globally, micro and small businesses spend large amounts of time managing accounting, taxes, payments, and access to credit. Tide aims to simplify this with a unified digital platform purpose-built for SMEs, integrating tools for payroll, loans, asset finance, and even website creation. This positioning appeals to both investors and governments viewking to drive formalization and productivity in small business sectors.
Beyond India and the UK, Tide launched in Germany in May 2024 and expanded into France in September 2025. Each market rollout comes with tailored local language support and compliance structures. With its fresh capital, Tide intends to continue expanding across Europe and other regions, balancing profitability in the UK with growth in newer, high-potential markets.
Investor Takeaway
AI and Future Outlook
A core theme of Tide’s funding use is investment in agentic AI, which the company believes can significantly reduce time and costs for SMEs by automating repetitive back-office processes. CEO Prill emphasized that Tide is already adopting AI “at pace,” and new funding will accelerate development of AI-powered features in accounting, invoicing, and compliance.
Tide currently employs more than 2,500 people worldwide and is preparing to announce major product launches in the coming months. The fresh funding gives it resources to fill gaps in its service portfolio, scale across new geographies, and reinforce its position as a leading SME fintech globally.
For investors, Tide represents a bet on the convergence of SME banking, AI adoption, and emerging market growth. If the company can maintain profitability in mature markets like the UK while scaling aggressively in India and Europe, its $1.5 billion valuation may be just the beginning.
