Mumbai: Vested Finance, a Silicon Valley-based online investment platform has raised $3.6 million in a seed funding round. Moving Capital, Ovo Fund and TenOneTen Ventures in the U.S., and Inflection Point Ventures and Venture Catalysts in India participated in the funding round.
Vested Finance enables Indian investors to invest in the U.S. stock market. The online investment startup will use the new funds to accelerate product development and hire talent across the U.S. and India.
Founded two years ago, the company saw rapid growth in 2020. Money deposited into Vested accounts grew 26x over the last twelve months, along with a 5x increase in U.S. brokerage accounts opened through the platform.
Vested processed over $100 million in trades in 2020. And more than half of the investors using its platform are investing in the U.S. market for the first time ever.
“Individuals in India have been contributing to the top and bottom line of international companies for decades, but have never had the chance to create wealth by investing in them,” said Viram Shah, CEO and Co-Founder, Vested Finance.
“Our goal is to build the easiest U.S. investing platform for Indian investors. Our focus following this seed round is on accelerating product development to create a seamless and cost-effective end-to-end U.S. investing experience,” added Shah.
Vested’s zero-commission online platform requires no minimum balance and allows investors to invest in U.S. stocks in minutes. Investors can choose individual stocks or ETFs, or select from a variety of “Vests,” Vested’s curated portfolios constructed with various goals, themes, and risk levels in mind.
“The U.S. is a global innovation centre and people around the world can benefit from investing in the U.S. markets,” said Gil Elbaz, Partner – TenOneTen Ventures.
“Vested is bringing this cross-border investment opportunity to India and beyond. Allowing local investors to diversify globally by spreading out their risk. We’re excited about the possibilities Vested will bring to individuals in India, Southeast Asia and around the globe,” added Elbaz.
To facilitate Indian investors to invest in U.S. markets, Vested has partnered with over 25 brokers, fintech and wealth management firms in India, including Axis Securities, Kuvera, Angel Broking and 5Paisa. Vested has also partnered with global digital trading technology platform DriveWealth to power its offerings.
“By enabling local investors to invest in foreign markets, Vested Finance has taken the idea of sustainable wealth creation a step further,” said Dr Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, Co-Founder and President, Venture Catalysts.
Vested is a recent graduate of the 2020 Techstars & Western Union accelerator program in Denver.
(Image source – Getty Images)