VC-backed LoanTap’s co-founder Vikas Kumar dies in accident

Vikas Kumar, who co-founded the digital lending startup LoanTap Financial Technologies Pvt. Ltd along with Satyam Kumar, died in an accident on Wednesday. 

A spokesperson for the Pune-based company told VCCircle that he met with an accident in Bengaluru. The spokesperson didn’t disclose any other details. 

“We remain guided by his enduring principles. Under the foundation he built, the organization will continue to pursue its vision with the same dedication, integrity, and purpose that he exemplified,” LoanTap said in a separate statement. 

This adds to the list of founders and investors who met an untimely demise in the recent past. In January, Amit Banerji, founder and chairman of managed workspace provider Table Space died of a heart attack. He was 45. In December, Rohan Mirchandani, co-founder of Epigamia, also succumbed to a heart attack. Rohan Malhotra, co-founder of Good Capital, died at 44 last year, and Ambareesh Murty, co-founder of Pepperfry, passed away at 51 in 2023.    

Vikas co-founded LoanTap Financial in 2016 and was also the company’s CTO. Co-founder Satyam Kumar is LoanTap’s CEO. The company counts venture capital firms 3one4 Capital, Kae Capital, India Quotient, Avaana Capital and Tuscan Ventures as its investors. 

Prior to starting the fintech startup, Vikas co-founded and served as the chief technology officer of customer acquisition platform SME Networks Pvt Ltd for a span of six years.  

LoanTap was his third venture. His first tryst with entrepreneurship began with e-learning company Brainvisa, which he co-founded in 2000 and served as its CTO for nearly 10 years. An IIM Lucknow graduate, Vikas kicked off his career in software and IT with Infosys where he worked for two years, between 1998-2000. 

LoanTap Financial offers personal loans to salaried professionals with earnings of Rs 30,000 and above through its subsidiary LoanTap Credit Products Pvt. Ltd. Besides, it provides credit to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through unit I-Loan Credit Pvt. Ltd.