# Dodo Payments Raises $1.1M To Simplify Global Payments > Dodo Payments raises $1.1M pre-seed to simplify global payments, expand local processing, and support more currencies and payment methods for startups. - **Author**: Rishabh Goel - **Published**: 2025-02-25 - **Category**: Press release - **URL**: https://dodopayments.com/blogs/dodo-payments-raises-1-1m-to-simplify-global-payments --- We're thrilled to announce that [Dodo Payments](https://dodopayments.com/), the **first Merchant of Record (MoR) platform** tailored for India and emerging markets, has **raised $1.1M in a pre-seed funding round.** The investment was led by **Antler, 9Unicorns, and Venture Catalysts**, with significant participation from angel investors including **Nitin Gupta**(Uni Cards and PayU), **Maninder Gulati**(former Oyo CSO/Lightspeed), **Raymond Russell**(former Chief of Staff at Boom Supersonic), **Preethi Kasireddy** (former Partner, a16z), and **Nishant Verman** (former Flipkart CorpDev head) etc. We have a simple vision: **payments should always go through, irrespective of the location of the customer or the merchant.** ## So how did we arrive here? Let's rewind back a few years. > The checkout is the most underoptimized part of most SaaS products. Showing the right currency, the right payment method, and the right tax treatment for each customer's location is worth more than most A/B tests. > > \- Ayush Agarwal, Co-founder & CPTO at Dodo Payments My co-founder, [Ayush Agarwal](https://www.linkedin.com/in/aagarwal1012/) was still running his previous startup, a platform for gamers-- **Tournafest.** While Ayush and his team spent months building a scalable product and acquiring more than 1,00,000 users, he ran into a challenge. A challenge that will later shape the vision for Dodo payments. But more on that later. He had integrated with 2 large Indian payment gateways but soon realised that it **wasn't built to optimise global transactions.** He then integrated with the largest payment processor in the world but even that didn't solve it. Tournafest's users were gamers, under the age of 25. They preferred paying through alternate payment methods. Payment methods that he did not even know existed: AliPay, Pix, ApplePay, CashApp, iDEAL, GiroPay etc. The list goes on. Moreover, even when he did manage to collect payments from a few users, managing global compliance and taxation was a logistical nightmare. In the end, Ayush was forced to limit his dreams to the domestic market. Quick side note for those of you who think paying taxes for International transactions is not important, check out [this report](https://www.pwc.com/mt/en/publications/vat/new-reporting-obligation-for-payment-service-providers.html). Now, let me talk about my story. In my latest stint before **Dodo Payments,** I built the cross-border BNPL product for Bzaar (cross-border eCommerce). We were working with a US payment processor for customers across the Western Hemisphere. While domestic payments were smooth - international payments were a nightmare. Low success rates, limited payment methods, and hidden fees were strongly detrimental to our international BNPL product. When I dived into this rabbit hole, I learned that payment processors are highly regulated and regulatory bodies across jurisdictions do not talk to each other. Payment processors get licenses for each jurisdiction and even if they have licenses from different regulators - they are mandated to build rails in each jurisdiction function independently. Hence, international transactions will always be a broken experience. I've been fortunate enough to work for cross-border fintech startups like **Wise and Prodigy** Finance early in my career. Most cross-border startups focus on solving for international bank transfers, P2P, or B2B payments, and no one was really trying to solve for a better checkout experience. ## What are we doing at Dodo Payments? Our mission is simple-- **we want to enable entrepreneurs and startups around the world to collect payments from all over the world.** Without worrying about-- **payment methods, billing, invoicing, taxes, fraud, chargeback** s or rather anything that takes their focus away from their product. Seems pretty straightforward enough right? It's 2025 now. AI is all the rage. The number of startups popping up every year shatters the previous year's numbers. Developers and companies are launching products for global audiences from day 1. The time taken to build and ship products have come insanely down. And yet, processing global payments for startups from emerging markets has not improved. ## What do we plan to do in the future? With this backdrop, we're proud to announce (again) that **we've raised $1.1 million in pre-seed funding from Antler, 9 Unicorns, and Venture Catalysts.** With great funding comes greater responsibility. And we couldn't be more ready. We plan to utilize this funding to accelerate our product development, expand local processing in **30+ new markets**, while enhancing compliance and security measures. Our goal is to support **100+ currencies** and **300+ local payment methods** across key global markets in the coming year. So far, we've made significant strides-- **working with 1,000+ merchants from over 30 countries**--and we're setting our sights higher. By the end of 2025, we aim to **onboard 10,000+ merchants globally**. Our platform already supports **25+ local payment methods**, including **Apple Pay, Klarna, Affirm, CashApp, UPI,** and all major card networks. With this funding, we're doubling down on our mission to simplify global payments and make cross-border transactions seamless for businesses worldwide. This funding is just the beginning. The world is becoming more interconnected, and we're here to ensure that every entrepreneur--no matter where they are-- **can accept payments globally, as easily as they do locally.** We're just getting started. ## FAQ ### How much funding did Dodo Payments raise and who led the round? The company announced a $1.1M pre-seed round led by Antler, 9Unicorns, and Venture Catalysts, with participation from multiple angel investors. The post presents this as fuel for faster product and market expansion. ### What problem did the founders experience before starting Dodo Payments? Both founders describe global checkout pain points like low international success rates, limited payment methods, and high compliance overhead. Their prior work at Tournafest and cross-border fintech roles shaped the product thesis. ### What expansion goals are tied to this funding? The article says the team plans local processing in 30+ new markets, support for 100+ currencies, and 300+ local payment methods. It also targets scaling from 1,000+ merchants to 10,000+ merchants by the end of 2025. ### Is Dodo Payments focused only on India-based merchants? No. While it is described as India and emerging-markets first, the mission in the post is global collection for entrepreneurs regardless of customer location. ### Which payment methods were already supported at announcement time? The post mentions 25+ local methods including Apple Pay, Klarna, Affirm, CashApp, UPI, and major card networks. That baseline is positioned as the starting point before broader rollout. --- - [More Press release articles](https://dodopayments.com/blogs/category/press-release) - [All articles](https://dodopayments.com/blogs)