Stock-broking platform Punch raises $7 million led by Stellaris Venture Partners, others

Indian stock-broking platform Punch has raised $7 million in a seed funding round led by Stellaris Venture Partners, Susquehanna Asia VC, Prime Venture Partners, and Innoven Capital.

Angel investors, including CRED CEO Kunal Shah, Ultrahuman co-founder Vatsal Singhal, and Nazara Technologies founder Nitish Mittersain, also participated in the round.

Focus on R&D and marketing

The startup plans to use the raised capital for research and development (R&D) initiatives aimed at enhancing user experience and covering marketing expenses.

“Our focus is on making responsible trading intuitive and part of the user experience,” said Amit Dhakad, CEO and Co-founder at Punch. “We want to help beginners who are engaging with the market, to do it confidently and cautiously.”

What does Punch do?

Founded in 2022 by Amit Dhakad, Hiral Jain, Arshad Fahoum, and Ajit Dandekar, Punch is a trading platform developed by Market Pulse Securities, a Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)-registered broker.

The platform supports index and stock options trading, as well as direct stock trading.

It aims to facilitate responsible trading behaviours, addressing the needs of this cohort through product innovations, such as intuitive safety tools and an easy-to-use single-screen user experience.

Punch’s built-in safety tools help traders adhere to daily and weekly trading limits and mitigate the risk of significant losses.

User demographics and future plans

The platform has nearly 60-70% young users, part-time traders with less than one year of trading experience. The company currently focuses on options trading but plans to introduce cash trading next month. 

The platform has been in beta testing for the past 18 months, with around 18,000 trading accounts already opened.