Former Swiggy CTO Dale Vaz Secures $7-10 Million Funding for Wealth-Tech Startup

• ByStartupStory     |    May 27, 2023

According to sources familiar with the matter, Dale Vaz, former CTO of Swiggy, has secured a funding round of $7-10 million for his wealth-tech startup from prominent investors Accel and Elevation Capital.

Amidst the rapid growth of the retail investor base, Dale Vaz’s foray into the wealth tech sector is strategically timed. As per CLSA analysts’ findings in March, the number of dematerialized accounts, which provide electronic tracking of assets, has surged five-fold from 22 million in FY14 to approximately 113 million in FY23.

The growing investor confidence in this trend has likely spurred support for Vaz’s venture, even amidst a more cautious investment climate. As previously reported by Moneycontrol, Vaz tendered his resignation in April and is set to depart from his current position at the food tech giant later this month. While working in stealth mode, he has been actively developing his wealth-tech startup, which is yet to be named.

Wealth-tech startups function as comprehensive platforms that enable users to diversify their investments across multiple asset classes, such as mutual funds and various other investment options. These platforms also facilitate stock trading, commodity trading, and a range of additional financial activities.

Prominent names in this sector encompass Zerodha, Groww, Upstox, Paytm Money, and other renowned entities commonly recognized as discount brokers. 

With a professional background spanning over two decades, Vaz entered Swiggy’s team in July 2018 and swiftly ascended the corporate ladder, assuming the role of Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in February 2020. Before his tenure at Swiggy, he accumulated more than 10 years of experience at Amazon. Notably, Vaz also spent six years at Infosys in the United States, as indicated by his LinkedIn profile. In recent times, Vaz has actively leveraged his expertise by sharing valuable insights regarding diverse asset classes and his own investment strategies, with the aim of imparting knowledge to others.

“We work so hard for our money, it’s important that we make our money work as hard for us,” Vaz tweeted on May 20.

The interest in investing and trading experienced a significant surge during the years affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, as individuals were confined to their homes due to the restrictions imposed by the global health crisis. 

“The number of retail investors has grown consistently over the years, with a sharp uptick during Covid. This was driven by greater awareness as well as ease of transactions enabled by discount brokers,” CLSA’s report said.

“Discount brokers have facilitated retail investor participation, they have been instrumental in widening retail investor participation in India. For them, the majority of incremental customer acquisitions are happening from Tier-2 and lower locations,” it added.

According to data, although the total number of demat accounts has quintupled, the growth in the number of unique active customers has been comparatively slower, reaching approximately 34 million from 4 million in FY14. An active investor is defined as someone who has executed at least one trade within the past 12 months.

As per a report by Motilal Oswal, the active user count on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) witnessed a continuous decline for the tenth consecutive month in April of the current year, dropping to approximately 31.2 million from the previous count of 38 million recorded in July 2022. This decline in active users indicates a waning enthusiasm among retail investors in the stock market.

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