India’s broking industry is entering another cycle of disruption as younger investors and traders embrace new platforms, creating room for a new generation of brokers to build large businesses, according to Anish Patil, an investor at venture capital firm Z47, formerly Matrix Partners India which backed fintech startups like Jupiter and OneCard, among others.us
“Broking is one of the few categories where every five years, if you go and see the winners, they change,” Anish said in an interview with Mint, on the sidelines of the Global Fintech Fest.
The shift, he said, is being driven by two forces working in tandem: technological evolution and generational change. Each new generation of investors tends to enter the market through newer platforms, while technological improvements enable emerging brokers to operate with leaner cost structures and better economics.
The underlying market is expanding too. India’s securities brokerage market, valued at $6.98 billion in 2026, is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.33% to reach $13.09 billion by 2031, according to a Mordor Intelligence report published in July.
Anish does not expect newer brokers to simply displace established players. India’s expanding investor base, he said, is large enough to accommodate several businesses, including those built around specific customer segments. “There is enough space for 10 brokers to coexist, as retail participation in the equity capital markets continues to deepen,” he said.
While some newer brokers are building products for active traders, others are zeroing in on younger investors. A broker does not necessarily need tens of millions of users to build a sizeable business; a smaller but highly engaged customer base can also support a viable model, Anish said.
Wealth management market
The opportunity is unfolding against a broader deepening of the country's wealth market. In 2025, Vikram Vaidyanathan, managing director at Z47, told Mint that the firm was seeing a new wave of wealth-tech startups emerge as more Indians accumulated wealth.
In July 2025, Mint reported that the Bengaluru-based firm, which split from its US parent Matrix in 2024, is in early talks to raise its first fund to continue investing in Indian startups.
It has backed companies across wealth-tech and fintech and has also explored AI-led financial services. Its portfolio includes OneCard, Captain Fresh, Country Delight, Jupiter, MoEngage, and Zupee, among others.
It has exited investments in companies such as Avail, CreditVidya, Five Star Business Finance, ITZ Cash, Muthoot Finance, and Ola Electric through a mix of strategic sales and public listings.
“We are now seeing a lot of wealth-tech startups come up in India to serve the needs of different customers with the country’s population becoming more affluent,” Vaidyanathan had said.
Anish sees AI as another potential catalyst for the sector. In wealth management, AI could automate parts of the work traditionally handled by relationship managers, from preparing reports to managing customer interactions. This could allow managers to serve a larger pool of customers while delivering greater personalization.
Survival of the fittest
The funding environment, however, is becoming more selective. While capital is likely to continue flowing into early-stage and early-growth wealth and fintech companies, larger growth rounds are likely to face greater scrutiny from investors.
For companies seeking $40-50 million or more, investors will increasingly look for strong unit economics, a differentiated business model and a clear path to an exit, Anish said.
Beyond wealth and broking, Z47 is also seeing opportunities in AI-led financial services, including technology for banks and other financial institutions. Lending remains a steady area of capital deployment, although Anish expects the sector to consolidate as stronger companies acquire weaker or complementary businesses.
“Lending might see some consolidation in the near-term, with stronger guys acquiring niche balance sheets or complementary asset-skills,” he said.
The firm is currently deploying capital from its fourth fund, which closed at $550 million in 2023, and its entry cheque sizes range between $3 million and $5 million.