Gotrade, the app that lets international users buy fractions of U.S. stocks, raises $15.5M Series A
Gotrade, an app that lets international users buy fractional shares of U.S. stocks and ETFs, announced today it has raised $15.5 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Velocity Capital Fintech Ventures, with participation from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, BeeNext, Kibo Ventures, Picus Capital, and returning investors LocalGlobe, Social Leverage and Raptor.
April 05, 2022 04:27
The company’s last round of funding was $7 million announced in June 2021. Gotrade’s app was launched a year ago, after receiving clearance from the Labuan Financial Service Authority of Malaysia, and says it now has 500,000 users from more than 140 countries, acquired through word of mouth and customer referrals with no marketing. It has transacted about $400 million so far, across 5 million trades.
The startup was founded in 2019 by Rohit Mulani, Norman Wanto and David Grant. Its app lets users buy fractional shares in NYSE and NASDAQ-traded stocks starting from $1 USD. Gotrade does not charge a commission on its trades. Instead, it monetizes by charging a 0.5% to 1.2% foreign exchange fees if users deposit funds in local currency that is converted into U.S. dollars for trading.
The fee includes instant deposits, which means Gotrade users can start trading without needing to pre-fund their accounts. Gotrade is also testing a new membership tier called Gotrade Black with premium features like candlestick charts, analyst ratings, target prices and risk measurement for $2 USD per month.
Part of the capital will be used to create localized versions of the app for more markets. Co-founder and CEO Rohit Mulani told TechCrunch that the startup is currently exploring all markets in Southeast Asia. That means launching Gotrade’s app in local languages with whatever deposit methods for cash are most commonly used, including local bank transfers and e-wallets.
One of Gotrade’s key markets is Indonesia, where Gotrade has launched Gotrade Indonesia.
Gotrade is among several investment apps in Indonesia that have raised funding over the past year or so. These include Pluang, Pintu, Bibit and Ajaib.
