Groww, an online investment platform in India, has made it to a 3x value ($251 million) - at the valuation of $3 billion dollars in just a matter of just six months as an Indian Fintech startup. The company looks forward to broadening its offerings and helping yet more millennials start investing in the world's second-largest market of the internet. The current round had new investors, such as Alkeon, Lone Pine Capital, and Steadfast. Along with that, there were existing clients like Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, YC Continuity, Tiger, and Propel Venture Partner, also participants of the round.
Rapid Growth
Established in 2016 and going on for 5 years, Groww enables the Indian market's retail investors to invest in direct mutual funds, stocks, ETFs and IPOs. The company also plans to extend its outreach to the under-penetrated geographical areas of the country. Groww aims at spreading a considerable investment, awareness and education initiative throughout India.
On the note of that investment, Lalit Keshre, the CEO and co-founder of Groww, said, "Over the last five years, we have built a comprehensive product that customers have loved and have lowered the barriers in investing across India. We are making a difference in the lives of millions of Indian citizens by democratizing access. And it looks like the journey has just begun with such a huge opportunity in front of us.”
Expansive Technology Infrastructure
The company is aiming at seeing proceeds from the most recent round to get an expansive technology infrastructure that widens its reach to the under-penetrated regions. Groww has recently listed futures and options, investments in initial public offerings, and sovereign gold bonds and is at the moment looking to launch investments in the US-based shares for its investors.
On the topic of the US-based shares, Keshre said that they have launched investments of US stocks on the platform, but the problem is not about the investment in US stocks but about the remittance process and costs. A lot of experts of the market are looking to solve it, he says, and so are they working on it, but they do not have the timelines that give in at the moment for the launch.
Groww is also looking forward to launching crypto-based investments on the platform to get hold of the growing interest in Indian investors towards the upcoming asset class.
Start up with a Great Start
Now, the company is said to have more than 20 million users on the platform. 70% of its investors come from tier 2 and tier 3 geographical locations of the nation. They have around 2 million users who leverage Groww as a platform to invest in stocks.
Today, Groww is diverging into a large market. Over 200 million people in the country today transact money digitally, but less than 30 million are in the field of investing in mutual funds and stocks online. Keshre mentioned that the startup would deploy the fresh capital for its long-term growth and the education of investing for first-time investors of India.
In a statement, Yoonkee Sull, the partner at ICONIQ, said, “The financial services market of our country is already huge, growing at an extremely fast rate, and ripe for disruption. During the last few years, Groww has demonstrated that they are all ready to seize that opportunity through strong accelerating momentum predicated on the strength of technology."
Groww is one of the most simple digital DIY tech-driven platforms in India. It was also founded with the motive to make investing an accessible factor for all. It has already established a strong presence in the distribution of mutual funds and reaches closer to that aspect each passing day. They claim to be now looking into adding government bonds and various other fixed-income products that include derivatives.
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