BENGALURU: India's CRED said on Tuesday it had raised $251 million in a new funding round led by existing investors and private equity firms Tiger Global and Falconedge, valuing the fintech company at $4.01 billion.

"Two new investors - Marshall Wace and Steadfast - joined the cap table. DST Global, Insight Partners, Coatue, Sofina, RTP and Dragoneer increased their investments in CRED with this round," a CRED spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Founded in 2018, CRED allows users to pay their credit card bills through its online platform and rewards them with offers from various brands and companies such as Puma and Samsung. When a user redeems a reward, the company then pays CRED an agreed-upon fee.

The company also gained a following on social media in recent months after releasing web commercials with quirky storylines.

Indian startups have been on a tear in 2021, with several companies entering the unicorn or $1 billion club, while other high-profile names including food delivery app Zomato and hotel aggregator Oyo listing or pursuing a debut on domestic stock exchanges.

(Reporting by Anuron Kumar Mitra in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Krishna Chandra Eluri) ((AnuronKumar.Mitra@thomsonreuters.com; +91 99863 58469;))