New York/Singapore, June 1, 2016 – Smartkarma, the premier collaborative marketplace for Asian investment research and analysis, has closed its second strategic funding round, raising $4.7million USD to further expand its unique investment research offering.
Smartkarma’s platform officially launched from closed beta in April 2016. This funding will be used to build on a number of key milestones already achieved during its first year of operations. These include usage by 140 global professional institutions, a 267% year on year growth in platform activity, and a sharp acceleration in the number of insight providers joining the platform.
The latest round brings the total capital raised to $7.5million USD, with investments from five institutions including Wavemaker Partners, Jungle Ventures, an arm of the Singapore government, an investment group led by Mr Koh Boon Hwee, former Chairman of Singapore Telecommunications as well as several prominent industry leaders such as Mr Tan Chin Hwee.
“Smartkarma’s global client base is expanding rapidly and our relevance in today’s investment research industry is undeniable given the final MiFID II rules announced this year,” says Raghav Kapoor, CEO and Co-Founder of Smartkarma. “We are thrilled to be driving industry change by providing a radically different approach for the creation and consumption of investment insight. The success of this funding round is testament to our model.”
“In Smartkarma, we see the makings of a global leader looking to positively transform an industry that is in need of profound change. We are very excited to be working alongside them in supporting their mission and achieving long-term success,” said Mr Koh Boon Hwee, former Chairman of Singapore Telecommunications.
Smartkarma intends to build on its global momentum by further growing its ecosystem of Insight Providers and expanding platform offerings. These would include the addition of sophisticated research applications, complementary data services and engagement tools. “We like to invest in businesses that fundamentally change the economics of an existing industry,” said Amit Anand, Founding Partner of Singapore based Jungle Ventures. “We are very excited about partnering with the team at Smartkarma as they look to reshape the financial research industry in Asia and beyond.” Smartkarma is also working with government agency International Enterprise (IE) Singapore to further its expansion into overseas markets.
Smartkarma is radically changing the way global institutional investors create, distribute and consume investment insights. Through a single subscription, clients gain unlimited access to a large, fast growing pool of Insight Providers, which together make up the widest range of analysis on the Asian markets available.
“Smartkarma is positively impacting the global research paradigm. Smartkarma not only provides better research, as it is able to access a broader intellectual base, but it also assures its ultimate end users that the content is free from any biases and conflicts,” said Paul Santos, Managing Partner of Wavemaker Partners.