has secured $10 million in a series A funding round led by (BII), the strategic investment arm of German giant Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA.
The company aims to become a research-first stock market super app for retail investors—providing solutions for everything from selecting the right picks to timely exits—on a single platform, it said in a statement.
“Over the past two years, Univest has been on a remarkable growth trajectory, helping millions of investors make confident, informed decisions. With this funding round, we are excited to accelerate our mission to democratise access to high-quality research. The funds will enable us to scale our research-first, full-stack brokerage offering, creating India’s first true stock market superapp for retail investors,” said Pranit Arora, Co-founder and CEO of Univest.
“Our focus will remain on delivering seamless, personalised, and actionable insights that simplify the investment journey for our users. We look forward to leveraging this partnership to redefine the brokerage model and establish Univest as the go-to platform for retail investors in India,” Arora added.
According to Pankaj Makkar, Managing Director, Bertelsmann India: “Current investment solutions predominantly cater to ultra-high-net-worth and high-income segments, leaving over 85% of the market—the retail investors—without access to meaningful advisory services. These investors are left to navigate a fragmented and disjointed investment landscape. Univest’s advisory-led model is uniquely positioned to bridge this gap.”
As the retail investor base continues to grow, the demand for advisory services will soar and “platforms like Univest will play a pivotal role in enabling these investors to make the right calls and unlock their full wealth potential,” he added.
Founded in 2022, Univest offers general recommendations through its SEBI-registered RA entity, Uniresearch. The company was also selected for the Google for Startups Accelerator Cohort 2024.
(The story was updated for clarity.)
