Amazon, Premji Invest back smallcase in $40-mnfunding round

smallcase, a leading capital markets-focused fintech company, has raised $40 million in a series C round led by Faering Capital that saw participation from new investors Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund (ASVF) and Premji Invest.

Other existing investors including Sequoia Capital India, Blume Ventures, Beenext, DSP Group, Arkam Ventures, WEH Ventures, HDFC Bank, and Utpal Sheth (CEO of Rare Enterprises), also invested more. The round brings the total capital raised by smallcase to over $60 million and the start-up’s valuation has risen to around $200 million.

“In April, we launched a $250-million Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund (ASVF) to invest in early-stage tech start-ups,” said a spokesperson for Amazon. “We are excited to partner with smallcase in their journey to offer innovative consumer investment products. By increasing product selection and convenience, this will provide an additional channel for consumers to participate in the equity markets.”

The capital raised will be used to launch more investment products for the retail investor and will also help create additional value for smallcase’s partners by growing the ecosystem and enhancing the platform and its capabilities, the firm said.

“[In the] last two years [we] have seen remarkable interest from Indian retail investors in the equity markets, and we are inspired to see smallcase become the primary gateway to stocks and ETFS (exchangetraded funds) for millions of new investors,” said Vasanth Kamath, founder and CEO of smallcase.