Smallcase, a financial management company, has raised $40 million in a Series C round led by Faering Capital. Amazon and Premji Invest joined the round as new investors. Blume Ventures, Sequoia Capital, DSP Group, Beenext, WEH Ventures, Arkam Ventures, and HDFC Bank are some investors who were already in the round.
Anugrah Shrivastava, Rohan Gupta, and Vasanth Kamath, three IIT Kharagpur alumni, established Smallcase in July 2015.
“In 2020, we launched new features and tools to unlock access to Smallcase through multiple new channels,” Shrivastava said of the financing. “Now, in 2021, we are striving to grow our platform and technology to make Smallcase more useful for both investors and our partners.”
What does Smallcase do?
Smallcase is a platform to help a new generation of investors dive deeper into the Indian stock markets. Customers can access independent investment advisors, brokerages, and wealth channels through the company’s in-house experts.
Smallcase today has over 3 million users and processes $2.5 billion in transactions per year. It promises that customers may begin investing with just two clicks after signing up. Some of Smallcase’s direct competitors in India are Groww, Scripbox, Sqrrl, Tickertape, and Upstox.
Fresh financing to empower a new beginning
The fresh financing comes within a year after the startup based in Bengaluru secured $14 million in a Series B round last September. As an outcome of this round, Sameer Shroff, co-founder and managing director of Faering Capital, will head the company’s board of directors.
Sameer Shroff commented, “Globally, we have seen a trend of increased retail participation in equity markets, and in India, Smallcase is pioneering digital access for retail investors through their innovative products and channel partnerships.”
The money will be used to start expanding better investment options for retail investors, as well as to grow Smallcase’s ecosystem and strengthen the platform’s capabilities, which will benefit its partners.
Amazon’s role in emerging Indian startups
Amazon’s investment also marks the business giant’s entry into the Indian wealth management market. Over the previous three years, it has increased its investments in startups.
In 2021, Amazon invested in the cosmetics brand MyGlamm and absorbed the retail tech business Perpule. Before this, Amazon funded bus aggregator Shuttl, insurance startup Acko, and FinTech lender Capital Float in 2018.
Earlier this year, Amazon launched a $250 million investment fund to support Indian startups and entrepreneurs who are committed to changing India’s small and medium-sized companies.
An Amazon spokesperson said, “We are excited to partner with Smallcase in their journey to offer innovative consumer investment products. Increasing product selection and convenience will provide an additional channel for consumers to participate in the equity markets.”
Conclusion
Throughout the pandemic, India’s retail investing segment has gained a lot of momentum. Thanks to low bank deposit rates and enough liquidity, which has helped indexes gain a lot of ground.
FinTech businesses have experienced tremendous growth on their platforms. This fresh financing that comes Smallcase’s way is a significant marker for this growth.
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