Kiwi, a fintech startup specialising in credit-on-UPI virtual RuPay cards, has announced a senior leadership change as co‑founder and Chief Business Officer Mohit Bedi steps down from his executive role after four years, shifting to an advisory position while retaining a substantial equity stake.
Smooth transition; operational control stays with founders
Bedi will remain with Kiwi as an advisor through July 2026, citing a desire to prioritise personal and family commitments. In a LinkedIn post, he said he is confident in the company’s direction, team and long‑term prospects.
Kiwi characterised the move as a planned, orderly transition rather than a disruption. CEO Anup Agrawal and co‑founder Siddharth Mehta will continue to manage day‑to‑day operations. The company has appointed Sumeet Basrani, formerly of Cred, as the new Chief Business Officer to lead commercial functions.
Plans after stepping back
After relinquishing executive responsibilities, Bedi intends to focus on advisory roles, early‑stage investments and angel funding. He has already backed several startups and reportedly may explore launching another fintech venture, though no formal announcement has been made.
Before co‑founding Kiwi, Bedi held senior positions at Axis Bank and PayU, where he built experience in digital payments and consumer credit—expertise he brought to Kiwi’s product and partner strategy.
Kiwi’s business, scale and financial outlook
Launched in 2022, Kiwi operates in the emerging “credit‑on‑UPI” segment, issuing virtual RuPay credit cards that link to users’ UPI accounts. The company has partnered with banks including AU Small Finance Bank, Yes Bank, Axis Bank and Punjab National Bank, and says it has issued more than 200,000 cards.
Kiwi reports processing over 5 million transactions monthly across some 600 Indian cities. To date the startup has raised roughly $43 million, including a $24 million Series B round.
However, the company faces near‑term financial pressure: for FY25 reported revenue was ₹3.8 crore while losses widened to ₹64.2 crore. Management remains confident of achieving profitability within the next two years and is pursuing scale and unit‑economics improvements to reach that goal.
Industry context
Bedi’s transition reflects a broader pattern in India’s startup ecosystem, where founding executives increasingly move into investor or advisory roles as companies mature and new leadership is brought in to scale operations. For fintechs targeting credit‑on‑UPI, the path to profitability typically involves balancing rapid user acquisition with tighter credit underwriting and merchant partnerships to improve margins.
