Groww raises $251 mn, triples valuation to $3 bn in 6 months
2 min read . Updated: 25 Oct 2021, 06:01 AM IST
PremiumThe company is expected to use the funds to expand its technology infra and widen its reach
BENGALURU : Wealth management and investment platform Groww has raised $251 million as part of its latest Series E funding led by Iconiq Growth, nearly tripling its valuation to $3 billion in a little over six months.
In April, the company had raised $83 million in its Series D round led by Tiger Global, which valued the company at a little over $1 billion.
With this round, the company has raised close to $535 million to date.
Existing investors, including Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, YC Continuity, Tiger Global and Propel Venture Partners, participated in the round. New investors included Alkeon, Lone Pine Capital and Steadfast.
Groww is expected to use the proceeds from the latest round to expand its technology infra and widen its reach to under-penetrated regions. It will also be using the funds to continue making significant investments in creating financial education and awareness about investment products.
“Groww’s objective is to ensure that customers have all the investment options available to them to invest in different instruments. The platform should be able to provide customers with the right selection and tools to help them make the right decision. Today, a product like mutual fund is our anchor product, and we believe that 100 million customers in India can invest in mutual funds," Lalit Keshre, CEO and co-foun-der, Groww, said in an interview.
The company recently launched futures and options, investments in initial public offerings and sovereign gold bonds on its platform. It is also looking to launch investments in US-based stocks for its investors.
“We have launched (investments in) US stocks on our web platform. The problem is not about investment (in US stocks), but rather about the remittance process and costs. And a lot of players in the market are looking to solve that. We are also working on solving these remittance problems, but don’t have clear timelines to give at this moment on the launch," Keshre said.
Keshre added that the company is keenly watching the lending space, but is yet to finalize products to launch in the category.
The company is also looking to launch crypto-based investments on its platform to capture the growing interest of Indian investors towards the upcoming asset class, two people aware of the plans said on condition of anonymity. Keshre, however, declined to comment on this specific development.
Five-year-old Groww is an investment platform that allows users to invest across direct mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), stocks and IPOs. It also provides tools for stock and portfolio analysis for investors.
Currently, the company claims to have more than 20 million users on its platform, with 70% of its investors coming from tier-2 and 3 geographies. It has around 2 million users leveraging Groww’s platform to invest in stocks. Groww launched stock investments on its platform in July last year.
“Groww is already among the leading investment platforms in India, showcasing strong unit economics and customer cohorts. We are excited to participate in its vision to be the primary financial platform for Indian consumers," said Yoonkee Sull, partner at Iconiq Growth.
