Groww becomes the latest unicorn with fresh $83 m funding

Online investment platform Groww on Wednesday became the latest start-up to join the unicorn club after it raised a fresh $83 million in funding led by Tiger Global at a valuation of over $1 billion.

The investment which is part of the company’s Series D financing round also saw participation from existing investors Sequoia Capital India, Ribbit Capital, YC Continuity and Propel Venture Partners, the Bengaluru-based company said in a statement. Groww has raised a little over $140 million in capital from investors so far.

The company will deploy the fresh funds to expand its range of products besides apportioning a good amount of money towards introducing financial education content. The firm said that it plans to launch a slew of financial education initiatives for millennials in the next two years in a bid to grow the market for financial services. The part of the funds will also be used to hire skilled staff.

“Only around 25 million people in India are investing in stocks or mutual funds. We will continue working to change this. The new capital will help us invest in new products, acquire talent and continue building our financial education platforms,” said Lalit Keshre, CEO & co-founder.

Founded in 2017, Groww claims to have more than 1.5 crore registered users across more than 900 cities. The firm makes it easy for users to invest in stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, IPOs, and gold by simplifying the onboarding process. In June last year, it launched stocks with an easy-to-use interface for do-it-yourself (DIY) investors.

The company also claims to be among the growing mutual fund distribution platforms in India, registering more than 2.5 lakh new SIPs monthly.