Bengaluru-based investment platform Groww announced on Wednesday that it raised $83 million in its Series D round, taking its valuation to over $1 billion. Tiger Global led the round, which also saw the participation of existing investors Sequoia Capital India, Ribbit Capital, YC Continuity and Propel Venture Partners.
Groww became the eighth platform to earn unicorn status in 2021, and the fourth this week alone. This came after Meesho, CRED and PharmEasy all announcing that they had been valued at over $1 billion.
Groww claims to have more than 1.5 crore registered users. The platform allows users to invest in stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, IPOs, and gold.
“We started Groww almost five years back to make investing accessible and transparent to everyone in India. We have made good progress, but it feels we have just got started. 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 CEO Lalit Keshre.
Scott Shleifer, Partner, Tiger Global Management, said, “We are excited to partner with Groww as they help democratize access to investing in India. We believe the market opportunity is huge and expect Groww will have many years of efficient growth ahead.”
In June 2020, Groww launched stocks for retail investors, and said it opened 18 lakh demat accounts. In addition, it added. Groww said it registers more than 2.5 lakh new SIPs each month.
With the funding, Groww said it plans to expand its product suite, hire talent, and invest in financial education and awareness. “Financial education content has been a critical focus for Groww from its inception. In the next two years, the company plans to launch a slew of financial education initiatives aimed at millennials and expand the market for financial services,” Groww said in a statement.