[Funding alert] Silicon Valley-based fintech co Vested Finance raises $12M in Series A

California-headquartered online investment platform Vested Finance said it has raised $12 million in a Series A funding round led by Ayon Capital.

Investors such as 9Unicorns, Ankur Warikoo, Dhruvil Sanghvi, and Saumil Parekh participated in the round, alongside existing investors such as Tenoneten, Ovo Fund, Wedbush Ventures, IPV, and Upscale.

The startup said it plans to use the funds to scale its team globally, expand its product suite, and launch more products in the cross-border space.

Started in August 2018 by Viram Shah,  Darwin Arifin from Indonesia, and Yinghan Lin from Singapore, Vested allows Indians to make commission-free investments in US equities, and also undertake fractional investing (less than one full share of equity is known as a fractional share).

The company said it has processed more than $250 million in transactions in 2021, and tripled the deposits on the platform in 2021.

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"Today, the location where we are born determines the kind of wealth creation opportunities we get access to and that is unfair. Most of our portfolios lack global diversification," said Viram, Co-founder and CEO of the startup.

"We want to enable investors across the globe to access global wealth creation opportunities in an easy and cost-effective manner," he added.

Vested has tie-ups with more than 35 online brokerages, fintechs, and wealth management platforms, including Kuvera, 5Paisa, and Angel Broking, among others.

The startup raised $3.6 million in seed funding from Moving Capital, Ovo Fund, and TenOneTen Ventures in the US, and Inflection Point Ventures and Venture Catalysts in India.