New Delhi: Venture Catalysts group, India’s first integrated incubator and a leading early-stage investment platform for startups has announced a $ 2 Mn investment in a pre-series A round funding for AlgoBulls, a fully automated algorithmic trading platform and fixed-income securities distribution platform for retail market participants. The funding round was led by Venture Catalysts and also saw participation from DSP Group (~160-year-old Indian financial giant), Findoc Finvest by Mr Hemant Sood & Mr Nitin Shahi, LetsVenture, Mr Dishant Milan Parikh (Jainam Broking), Mr Yuvraj Thakker (BP Wealth & Fort Capital), Mr Sharath Kumar (Ex. MD & CEO India, Tower Research Capital), among other funds & family offices.
Profitable trading in capital markets is impeded due to the lack of credible knowledge, inconsistencies, delays and a general shortage of time for trading, owing to their elusive, complex and volatile nature. In such a market, by leveraging cutting-edge technology and ready-to-use prop desk strategies, AlgoBulls democratises algorithmic trading, making it accessible to everyone. The algorithmic trading market size is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.1%, from $11.1 billion in 2018 to $18.8 billion by 2024. AlgoBulls enables mass-market investors to access sophisticated, institutional-style trading strategies crafted by fund managers and professionals.
AlgoBulls offers fixed-income securities with returns ranging from 7% to 14% p.a. for retail in a Fixed Income Marketplace, focusing on capital and income preservation through investing in Bonds, NCDs & G-Secs for new entrants from retail. Displaying a range of Bonds/NCDs/G-Secs to choose from and enabling quick settlements on the tech-driven platform, AlgoBulls allows users to start investing from as low as INR 1,000. According to the Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), as of 2021, the bond market size (total debt outstanding) is $119 trillion worldwide.
Acquired organically, AlgoBulls has more than 25,000 clients to date. Its products include algorithmic trading for retail through ready-to-deploy strategies generated by combining smart, AI-driven technology and trading expertise. It also allows users to build their strategy via its platform and even provides them with an opportunity to monetise their expertise.
Reflecting on securing funds in the pre-Series A round, Pushpak Dagade, CEO & Founder, AlgoBulls said, “We firmly believe that our Strategic Investors, including but not limited to DSP Group (~160-year-old Indian financial giant), Findoc Broking, Fort Capital, BP Wealth, Jainam Broking and a few more, will help us in understanding the retail user behaviour and its adoption at the last mile. This would help us in improvising the user journey along with its life cycle. We would use the current fundraise to significantly invest in our products & technology and continue on our journey to make them world-class yet accessible to retail. Also, the current fundraise will help us to onboard new experienced traders as strategists, integrate deeply with more broking houses and expand into the international markets. As a part of alternate channel sales, we’ll also target large corporate treasuries, fund houses, large funded startups, family offices, and prop desks to manage their liquid funds through fixed-income products. Our strong belief is that the growth prospectus will be immense soon. Through the association of all our strategic investors & funds, AlgoBulls will be able to capitalise on huge market opportunities and revolutionise the investment and trading space.“
Founded by Pushpak Dagade (CEO), Suraj Bathija (CSO) and Jimmit Patel (COO) in 2019, AlgoBulls is a state-of-the-art trading platform for retail investors based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Powered by its integration with over 35+ major broking houses with access to exchanges such as NSE, BSE, MCX, Nasdaq and NYSE, AlgoBulls’ algorithmic trading products are accessible for more than 55% of India’s demat account holders. Also, AlgoBulls can deliver Fixed Income products, including G-Secs, in any demat account across any of the 3000+ broking houses in India.
Speaking about leading the funding for AlgoBulls, Dr Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, Founder of Venture Catalysts, said, “The breakthrough facilitated by the advancements in technology are disrupting traditional trading, and AlgoBulls leads this revolution with innovative solutions powered by cutting-edge technology and AI. It brings us immense pride to have led this funding round, and we aim to make the most out of this collaboration to capitalise on future opportunities.“
The pre-Series, A advanced round of funding for AlgoBulls, was led by Venture Catalysts. Other participants in the round included DSP Group (~160-year-old Indian financial giant), Mr Hemant Sood & Mr Nitin Shahi (Findoc Finvest), LetsVenture, Mr Dishant Milan Parikh (Jainam Broking), Mr Yuvraj Thakker (BP Wealth & Fort Capital), Mr Sharath Kumar (Ex. MD & CEO India, Tower Research Capital), among other funds & family offices.
About AlgoBulls
AlgoBulls is a fully automated algorithmic trading platform & newly launched distribution platform for fixed-income products for retail market participants. It is estimated that both products have the potential to cater to more than 500 million users in India, representing a market size of $1.9 trillion in India alone. AlgoBulls empowers retail users to gain a strategic edge & participate in investment classes like Futures & Options, Currency, Commodities, RBI G-Secs, Bonds, NCDs s etc. – something which was not conventionally accessible in a viable model. And that too, only through the retailer’s investment size and ability to take a risk by using AlgoBulls as a fully automated & “One Stop Shop” Platform.
About Venture Catalysts
Venture Catalysts is India’s 1st integrated incubator for startups. It combines capital, mentoring and network for startups and has a presence in 47 cities across India with international presence in UAE, HK, UK, USA, Canada and Singapore. Venture Catalysts invests INR 2 – 15 crores per startup range through a network of HNIs, Family Offices, CXOs, etc.
