Bengaluru-based wealthtech startup PowerUp Money has raised $7.1 million in its first major institutional funding round, led by early-stage investors Accel, Blume Ventures, and Kae Capital.
The round also saw participation from 8i Ventures, DeVC.
Founded in April by Prateek Jindal, who was previously the cofounder at Uni Cards, the startup offers direct mutual fund investments to retail investors.
“The venture was initially built as a separate platform but within Uni Cards. Post this funding round, the firm and the team have been hived off from Uni,” Jindal told ET. He added that while he continues to be a shareholder at Uni Cards, he has resigned from an executive role in the company.
Armed with a registered investment advisor (RIA) licence, the platform offers advisory services on its clients’ mutual fund investments and also offers transactions through the app.
Jindal said that he believes that the Indian mutual fund market will grow to 100 million users over the next three to four years from around 55 million currently, and investors would look for proper advisory services on which funds to buy and sell.
“There are many competitors in the wealth management space in India, but I am targeting retail investors with a ticket size of anywhere between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 2 crore,” Jindal said.
PowerUp Money’s funding round comes at a time when there is heightened activity in the Indian wealth management ecosystem. Players like Centricity, Dezerv, Angel One-backed Ionic Wealth are taking shape in this space, looking to carve out a niche in the growing market. Stock broking major Groww recently closed the acquisition of Fisdom to set foot in the wealth management space as well.
PowerUp Money wants to build a technology-led product, which will generate good-quality advisory and portfolio management services to its clients for free. The company is also offering a paid subscription service, which will offer quarterly reviews and additional services.
“While this will be my customer acquisition strategy, I am looking to generate revenue from end-to-end portfolio management services, which is what I am building towards,” Jindal said.
With a team of 30-35 individuals, Jindal is looking to use the freshly raised funds for strengthening the research vertical, building more products to cater to consumer requirements, and scaling up customer acquisition.
The round also saw participation from 8i Ventures, DeVC.
Founded in April by Prateek Jindal, who was previously the cofounder at Uni Cards, the startup offers direct mutual fund investments to retail investors.
“The venture was initially built as a separate platform but within Uni Cards. Post this funding round, the firm and the team have been hived off from Uni,” Jindal told ET. He added that while he continues to be a shareholder at Uni Cards, he has resigned from an executive role in the company.
Armed with a registered investment advisor (RIA) licence, the platform offers advisory services on its clients’ mutual fund investments and also offers transactions through the app.
Jindal said that he believes that the Indian mutual fund market will grow to 100 million users over the next three to four years from around 55 million currently, and investors would look for proper advisory services on which funds to buy and sell.
“There are many competitors in the wealth management space in India, but I am targeting retail investors with a ticket size of anywhere between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 2 crore,” Jindal said.
PowerUp Money’s funding round comes at a time when there is heightened activity in the Indian wealth management ecosystem. Players like Centricity, Dezerv, Angel One-backed Ionic Wealth are taking shape in this space, looking to carve out a niche in the growing market. Stock broking major Groww recently closed the acquisition of Fisdom to set foot in the wealth management space as well.
PowerUp Money wants to build a technology-led product, which will generate good-quality advisory and portfolio management services to its clients for free. The company is also offering a paid subscription service, which will offer quarterly reviews and additional services.
“While this will be my customer acquisition strategy, I am looking to generate revenue from end-to-end portfolio management services, which is what I am building towards,” Jindal said.
With a team of 30-35 individuals, Jindal is looking to use the freshly raised funds for strengthening the research vertical, building more products to cater to consumer requirements, and scaling up customer acquisition.
