Singapore-registered FnO Pte. Ltd has raised over $2 million (Rs 13.8 crore) in angel funding as the futures and options brokerage aims to introduce its first product to Indian retail investors in the next few weeks.
Co-founder Mayank Tayal did not disclose the investors but said they are top executives from banks, financial services and asset management companies, among others.
“FnO’s vision is to be synonymous with F&O (futures and options). And we plan to achieve it by making F&O trading easy, affordable and less error-prone," said Vishesh Dhingra, founder and chief executive, FnO.
F&O is a $500 trillion industry globally with retail participation accounting for 30-40%, noted Tayal.
Dhingra, a graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, has had stints at Barclays Capital and others. Tayal, a graduate of IIT Kharagpur, has worked at Schlumberger and Total, among others. Both of them got their MBA (Master of Business Administration) degrees from business school INSEAD.
Another co-founder Thomas Joseph, who is chief operating officer at the company, has worked with Ambit Investment Advisors and Morgan Stanley, among others.
The broader fintech sector in India has attracted considerable attention in recent times, with many startups trying to establish themselves in segments such as payments, lending, insurance and personal finance.
Earlier this week, Bengaluru-based online payment gateway startup Razorpay Software Pvt. Ltd raised $75 million (around Rs 524 crore) in a Series C funding round.
Earlier this month, OkCredit, which helps merchants keep track of payments and credit records via a mobile application, raised $15.5 million in a Series A funding round led by New York-based investor Tiger Global Management.
Online lending platform Avail Finance secured $9 million in its Series A funding round led by existing investor Matrix Partners India this month.
Early this month, electronic payments and banking solutions provider ACI Worldwide invested an undisclosed sum in Mumbai-based Mindgate Solutions Pvt. Ltd to deliver an end-to-end payments solution for various businesses.