[Funding alert] Invest-tech platform dezerv. raises $7M co-led by Elevation Capital and Matrix Partners India

Mumbai-based dezerv., a new-age, expert investing platform, has raised $7 million in a seed funding round co-led by Elevation Capital and Matrix Partners India, with participation from investors such as Whiteboard Capital and Blume Founders Fund. 

This round also featured tech founders including Kunal Shah (CRED), Ramakant Sharma (LivSpace), Asish Mohapatra and Ruchi Kalra (Ofbusiness), Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal (Meesho), Varun Dua (Acko), Nitin Gupta (Uni), Anurag Sinha (OneCard), Shashvat Nakrani and Suhail Sameer (BharatPe), Revant Bhate (Mosaic) along with marquee family offices including Taparia (FamyCare), RK Kedia (Manjushree), CJ Shah and Neeraj Goenka (Texport) and industry professionals like Akash Saxena (Hotstar), K Rangarajan (Five Star) and Aashish Sommaiyaa (WhiteOak).

The startup plans to use the funding to continue to build a strong team, launch and scale its invest-tech product platform and re-define investment experience for working professionals in India. 

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Established in April 2021 by former IIFL Wealth Senior Managing Partners Sandeep Jethwani, Vaibhav Porwal, and Sahil Contractor, dezerv. aims to offer a fresh approach and platform to help underserved Indian professionals access investment expertise.

Going beyond providing access to vanilla mutual funds, dezerv. will provide an Integrated Portfolio Approach (IPA) combined with white-glove expert advisory. This will help users maximise returns while controlling the downside, with the right portfolio mix and also unlock access to new asset classes - currently available only to high net worth individuals - such as curated, well-diligenced high yielding bonds and emerging high growth startups.

The founders -- Sandeep, Sahil, and Vaibhav, said, 

“dezerv. will leverage the digital adoption and scalable investment infrastructure of post-pandemic India, coupled with decades of our experience to bring world-class investing to Indian professionals. We are excited to launch our unique Integrated Portfolio Approach that looks beyond selecting individual mutual funds, and delivers high performing portfolios while controlling risk.”

According to the startup, the Indian market comprises of around 30 million households of working professionals who are adrift without a clear solution to manage their growing pool of wealth. On one end, while DIY platforms offer a marketplace for products, they lack the sophistication in advisory. On the other end, traditional wealth advisors cater only to the high net worth and ultra-high net worth segments, neglecting the successful, deserving professionals.

With its Integrated Portfolio Approach, built by investing experts, dezerv. plans to bring effortless investing to its clients, by providing a curated portfolio combination—handpicked for the individual investor and dynamic to keep abreast with evolving market situations. Currently, the platform is “invite-only”; users can apply on its website to access the platform and join a growing club of investors. 

Mridul Arora, Partner, Elevation Capital, said, 

“We are big believers in financialisation of savings and democratising access to financial products for customers across the affluence spectrum. Using a tech-first approach, dezerv. intends to ride on both these tailwinds and become the go-to platform for emerging affluents as they navigate their savings journey and build a portfolio suitable for their unique need and life-goals.”

“Digital-native affluent investors are on the brink of beginning their journey of building a portfolio across different asset classes. They need a solutions-focused approach designed by experts, and dezerv. aims to do just that. With their deep experience in wealth management over a decade, Sandeep, Sahil, and Vaibhav are best suited to solve this problem and we're excited to partner with them,” added Vikram Vaidyanathan, Managing Director, Matrix India.