What happened to Ezetap?

Why read this story?

Editor's note: Two points to ponder: ●   Is it easy for anyone in the startup ecosystem to put their head down and keep building a slow-growing fintech business when their biggest competitor is swallowing every funding opportunity available in the market year after year? ●   How many startups have you seen where the founders have quit—without a sale/exit or a fight and an ouster—and what are the chances of success of such a company running along in the personality-driven startup ecosystem? The company was Chamath Palihapitiya-run Social Capital’s first investment in India—Ezetap. The third-largest company in the point-of-sale payments business has had a rocky ride since it started in 2011. It was once a hot property, raising funds just 18 months after launch from Palihapitiya—the famous smooth-talking billionaire venture capitalist and former Facebook executive—who also brought in other big-name investors, such PayPal co-founders Peter Thiel and David Sacks. Over the years, it raised around $51 million, but the funding slowly dried up, and Ezetap’s last major round was in 2017. The company’s initial claim to fame was designing and launching …