Weaver Services Secures $170M from Lightspeed, Premji Invest to Transform Affordable Housing Finance in India

Weaver Services, a technology-first housing finance platform aiming to transform affordable housing finance in India, announced today that it has executed definitive transaction documents to raise $170 million funding in a landmark investment round led by Lightspeed and Premji Invest, subject to regulatory approvals. Gaja Capital also participated in the round.

Weaver is building a next-generation housing finance platform through use of technology and AI-driven workflows, to serve India's vast underserved affordable housing segment with a focus on self-employed individuals. Earlier, Weaver acquired Capital India Housing Finance as an anchor asset for the platform. It is likely to acquire another asset for initial scale and is currently evaluating a few assets for this purpose. The investment will accelerate Weaver's asset acquisition, fund technology development, and expand reach across tier-2 and tier-3 cities where the affordable housing gap is most acute. The team intends to combine strong market expertise in affordable housing with proprietary tech-driven underwriting models that leverage alternative data to assess creditworthiness beyond traditional parameters, enabling faster approvals and more inclusive lending.

Leading Weaver's transformation is Founder and Vice Chairman Satrajit Bhattacharya, an industry veteran with three decades of experience at HDFC Ltd. Alongside him, Co-Founder and CEO Anil Kothuri brings three decades of deep expertise in financial services, working at FedFina, Edelweiss and Citi.

“We aim to make housing finance more accessible to the people of India by leveraging technology and placing customers at the centre of our focus thereby bringing in a new paradigm in the space” said Satrajit Bhattacharya, Founder and Vice Chairman of Weaver Services.

"There is a clear opportunity to use technology mindfully to offer home loans to the informal segment, while achieving better customer selection, superior risk management, and enhanced productivity." said Anil Kothuri, MD and CEO of Weaver Services.

Investor Partnership

The investment marks a significant commitment by Lightspeed and Premji Invest, both of whom have been investing in India for two decades. Lightspeed, a global multi-stage investment firm with over $30 billion in AUM and a strong track record of backing category-defining entrepreneurs, sees Weaver as an impactful force that could potentially reshape India's housing finance market across Tier 1, 2 and 3 cities.

"We believe that India's housing finance market remains under-penetrated and we see it as a tremendous opportunity. Weaver’s combination of deep domain expertise, AI-driven capabilities, and a tech-first approach that positions them to democratize home ownership for millions of underserved Indians. At Lightspeed, we partner with bold, visionary founders with conviction to build extraordinary category leading companies. We are excited to partner with Satra, Anil and the exceptional team to reimagine the housing finance landscape in India” said Anuvrat Jain, Principal - Growth Investments, Lightspeed.

"At Premji Invest, we see a significant opportunity to leverage technology to transform the affordable housing finance sector in India. The acquisition of Capital India Housing Finance by Weaver Services marks an important first step toward delivering frictionless, scalable, and inclusive mortgage solutions for underserved segments. This investment reflects our commitment to backing differentiated and innovative platforms that use technology to drive meaningful, long-term impact in financial services” said Saravanan Nattanmai, Partner, Premji Invest.

Gopal Jain, Managing Partner, Gaja Capital added "Weaver is addressing a deep-rooted gap in India’s housing finance ecosystem with a tech-led, customer-first approach. Their sharp focus on the self-employed segment, combined with disciplined execution, positions them well to emerge as a leader in the next phase of inclusive growth in financial services”

About Lightspeed

Lightspeed is a leading global multi-stage investment firm, investing across venture to late-stage growth, with a focus on accelerating disruptive innovations in AI, Enterprise, Financial Services, Consumer, Health, and B2B. Over the past two decades, the Lightspeed team has backed hundreds of entrepreneurs building some of the most innovative and category-defining companies in the world. Globally, Lightspeed has invested in more than 500 companies, including Anthropic, Affirm, Anduril, Epic Games, Nutanix, Snapchat, AppDynamics, MuleSoft, Rubrik, Wiz, Oyo, Zepto, Udaan, Razorpay, PocketFM, Physicswallah and many others. Today, Lightspeed and its global team manage over $30 billion in AUM across its platform, with investment professionals and advisors based in the U.S., Europe, India, Israel, and Southeast Asia. Lightspeed began investing in India in 2008, with a portfolio that now spans both early-stage startups and growth-stage market leaders.

About Premji Invest

Premji Invest (PI) is a leading global investment firm with a charter to back emerging and disruptive technologies, address sizable market opportunities and nurture the spirit of entrepreneurship. Its evergreen structure allows PI to make investments in India and the US with a long-term horizon. PI invests both in private and public markets. Its private investments include early stage, growth equity and buyouts and focus areas span financial services, technology, consumer, industrials, and healthcare. Public markets investments span listed companies with promising long-term prospects, sustainable returns and high standards of corporate governance across sectors. Investments are done using a structured quantamental (fundamental + quantitative) approach. The returns generated by PI primarily support the work of Azim Premji Foundation, a non-profit that works to improve the lives of the underserved and underprivileged in society.

About Gaja Capital

Gaja Capital is one of India’s leading PE/alternative asset management companies, focused on providing growth capital to ambitious entrepreneurs building the future champions of the Indian economy. Founded in 2004, Gaja Capital has established itself as India’s first institutional and independent private equity firm with a strong track record of performance and value creation. Gaja Capital is recognised as a partner of choice by emerging Indian companies and top-tier global and domestic institutional investors. Some of Gaja Capital’s investments include Teamlease, Lighthouse Learning, RBL Bank, John Distilleries, Xpressbees, Ei, Leadsquared, Signzy and Fractal Analytics.

Centre May Soon Announce ₹60,000 Cr Subsidy on Housing Loans

The Central Government of India is planning to give subsidy on Housing Loan. According to the report by news agency Reuters, the government is planning to spend Rs 60,000 crore (~ US$7.2 billion) to provide subsidized loans for small urban housing for the next 5 years.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the plan in a speech in August on the country's Independence Day, but its details have not been previously revealed.

In this yet-to-be-announced scheme, annual interest subsidy between 3 to 6.5% will be provided on the loan amount up to Rs 9 lakh. Sources said home loans of less than Rs 50 lakh, with a tenure of 20 years, will be eligible for the scheme.

According to Reuters, banks are likely to roll out the scheme in a couple of months, ahead of key state elections later this year and general elections due in mid-2024.

The interest subsidy will be deposited upfront directly into the housing loan account of the beneficiaries,” said the Reuters report citing a government official. This scheme, proposed till year 2028, is being finalized and will require Cabinet approval. The official said that this scheme can benefit 25 lakh loan applicants from low income groups in small-urban areas but the quantum of subsidised credit will depend on demand for such homes.

PM Modi had said in his speech in August, "We are coming up with a new scheme in the coming years, which will benefit those families who live in cities, but are living in rented houses, or in slums. Are living, or are living in chawls and unauthorized colonies."

Lenders have not been provided any specific lending targets about this scheme but a meeting with government officials is likely soon, two bank officials told Reuters.

Earlier in 2017-2022, the Government had ran similar scheme under which 12.27 million homes were sanctioned.