Digital asset management startup raises Series A funding
Kristal Advisors Pvt Ltd, which operates the asset management platform Kristal.AI, has raised $6 million in its Series A funding round.
According to media reports, the company raised the capital from Chiratae Ventures and Desai Family Office. The latest transaction takes the total funding raised by Kristal.AI to $11 million.
The report says that the co-founder at Kristal.AI, Asheesh Chanda, has stated that the firm will focus on scaling itself in parts of India and other Asia-Pacific regions. As per the report, he further added that the startup is focussed on differentiating its offerings and is currently in the process of developing and testing products for the enterprise sector.
Kristal.AI was established in 2016 by Chanda and Vineeth Narasimhan. The startup provides the investors and advisors with portfolios (Kristals) that are created and curated by financial experts. Each ‘Kristal’ is based on a theme and can include assets such as exchange-traded funds, stocks, bonds, options and futures.
It currently has a presence in Mumbai and Bengaluru. It also caters to customers in Singapore, Hong Kong, and United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The firm says it currently has over $100 million in Assets under Management (AUM) for more than 10,000 users across 22 countries.
Kristal.AI says its platform combines its advisory algorithm along with its investment committee to help customers create and fine-tune their portfolios based on their financial goals. It also offers alternative investment options such as commodities, hedge funds, and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), according to its website.
In April 2018, it raised $1.85 million (about Rs 12 crore) in a seed round of funding that was led by Chiratae (earlier known as IDG Ventures India). Angel investors Shailesh Rao, senior adviser at TPG and McKinsey; and Amit Gupta, founding partner at Newquest Capital, also took part in that round.
The wealth management platform and investment space are part of the larger and growing financial technology sector in India. Companies in this vertical are seeking to introduce a large number of people to traditional and alternative portfolio strategies. At the same time, they are also applying new-age technologies to differentiate their investment products.
In September last year, the US-based Tiger Global Management invested $25 million (around Rs 177.42 crore) in online stock brokerage Upstox, which provides investment products, tools and trades.
Prior to that, in August, Tiger Global also invested $15 million (around Rs 107.88 crore) in INDwealth, an artificial intelligence-based wealth management venture established by Ibibo founder Ashish Kashyap.
In July, incubation and accelerator platform Venture Catalysts invested an undisclosed sum of money in Vested, an investment platform enabling Indian investors to invest in the US stock market.