Exclusive: Dezerv raises fresh funds at $100 Mn valuation

Tech driven portfolio management service and alternative investment fund (AIF) platform Dezerv has raised $20.7 million in its Series A round led by Accel Partners.

Existing backers Elevation Capital, Matrix Partners, Whiteboard Capital, and GTM Ventures also joined the round. This would be the second financing round for the Bengaluru-based firm which appears to be in a closed beta for the past 10 months.

The board at Dezerv has passed a special resolution to issue 20 equity shares and 46,289 Series A compulsory convertible preferred shares (CCPS) at an issue price of Rs 35,078.42 per share to raise Rs 162.44 crore or $20.7 million.

Accel spearheaded the round by infusing Rs 94.13 crore or $12 million followed by existing investors Elevation Capital and Matrix Partners which put Rs 33.4 crore each. Whiteboard and GTM also joined the round with Rs 97 lakh and Rs 58 lakh respectively.

As per Fintrackr’s estimates, Dezerv has raised the fresh funding at a post-money valuation of $100 million. In September, the startup had raised $7 million in its seed round co-led by Elevation and Matrix. It has raised $27.7 million to date.

Post allotment of this round, co-founders Sandeep Jethwani, Vaibhav Porwal, and Sahil Contractor will hold 42.76% stake collectively. Elevation and Matrix will have 16.02% stake each followed by Accel. Jethwani, Porwal and Contractor are veterans in the mutual fund investment space and the trio had previously worked at IIFL Wealth in the capacities of senior managing partners.

Founded in April 2021, the startup primarily offers tech-focused portfolio management service (PMS) to working professionals with expert advice, direct bonds and angel investment opportunities in startups. It targets high net worth individuals (HNIs) who can invest Rs 15 lakhs to several crore rupees. Importantly, PMS has a minimum ticket size Rs 50 lakh.

It will compete with the likes of Motilal Oswal, Marcellus, WhiteOak, and ET Money among several others. It’s worth noting that tech-driven mutual funds from Navi and Tiger Global-backed Groww are yet to attain a critical scale as compared to incumbents.

While Groww had acquired IndiaBulls’ mutual fund business in 2021 and closed April-June 2022 quarter with Rs 524 crore in assets under management (AUM), Navi Mutual Fund had an AUM of Rs 1,353 crore during the same quarter. According to experts tracking the mutual fund and PMS space, startups are yet to make a mark in the above segment.

To some extent, Dezerv also competes with another Accel-backed fintech platform Scripbox and Ashish Kashyap-led INDMoney.