Tide raises $120 million from TPG, CEO says AI adoption at core of company’s next growth phase

UK-based business management platform Tide has raised $120 million in a strategic investment led by TPG, valuing the company at $1.5 billion. The fresh capital will support Tide’s international expansion, accelerate product innovation, and strengthen its push into AI-driven solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

India has emerged as Tide’s fastest-growing and largest market, with over 800,000 SMEs onboarded in just two and a half years. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Oliver Prill, CEO of Tide, said the adoption is being driven by the country’s formalisation of micro businesses through initiatives such as UPI, GST, and Aadhaar. “Tide is benefiting from that, and in many ways facilitating it, while hopefully making its contribution to the Indian economy,” he said.

Prill added that the investment aligns closely with the company’s mission of financial inclusion. “Tide is the leading business management platform, and we really focus on small entrepreneurs, enabling them in their finance and admin. I think The Rise Fund was particularly attracted to the fact that this is really helping financial inclusion and building economic prosperity,” he said.

Tide is expanding its product offerings in India, including current accounts, cards, invoicing, bill payments, UPI payments, POS devices, and credit services. Prill said credit is a high priority as the company continues its rollout in India.

Beyond India, Tide has entered Germany and France, in addition to its home market in the UK. Prill said the company’s single global tech platform allows it to scale rapidly across markets with minimal adaptation. “SMEs everywhere have the same problem. They’re really underserved by banks. The owner-managers want to get on with running their business, so they need minimum involvement in finance and admin. That’s what we are here to do,” he said.

Looking ahead, Tide is prioritising AI adoption as a key growth driver. “A lot of the platform already uses AI in one form or another, but we’re going to massively scale that up,” Prill said. The company is also focused on ensuring its India business continues to thrive while exploring new markets.

Tide currently supports 1.6 million members worldwide. Prill said the long-term ambition is to be recognised as the global number one business management platform for SMEs.

Watch accompanying video for entire conversation.