Pine Labs-owned Setu cofounder Nikhil Kumar exits operational role

04 Jun 2026, 03:10 PM

Kumar launched Setu in 2018 alongside Sahil Kini after previously cofounding customer feedback startup Voyce.

Nikhil Kumar, cofounder of fintech infrastructure platform Setu, has stepped away from his day-to-day responsibilities at the company after nearly eight years of building the business.

Kumar announced his departure through a LinkedIn post, describing his journey at Setu as one of the most significant phases of his professional life.

Kumar launched Setu in 2018 alongside Sahil Kini after previously cofounding customer feedback startup Voyce, which was acquired by Exotel in 2015. Setu provides API-based infrastructure for services such as bill payments, UPI, KYC, and account aggregation. The company also offers Sesame, an AI-powered large language model built for the banking and financial services sector.

The Bengaluru-based startup had attracted backing from investors including Lightspeed, Falcon Edge, and Alpha Wave Global, before being acquired by Pine Labs in 2022.

Kumar has not disclosed his future plans. His exit comes amid a broader trend of startup founders and senior executives moving on to launch new ventures or join emerging companies.

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