MC EXCLUSIVE Investment platform Wint Wealth in talks to close $20-million round led by Vertex Ventures

The fund has said it is particularly bullish on SME lending, wealthtech, and sustainable AI startups amid rising exit opportunities in India.

Investment platform Wint Wealth is set to raise about $20 million in a fresh funding round led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India, according to people familiar with the matter.

This would mark the Bengaluru-based wealthtech startup’s first major raise in over two years. The new round will add to Wint’s earlier capital of roughly $22 million raised from investors including Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath, CRED founder Kunal Shah, India Quotient, 3one4 Capital, Arkham Ventures, Blume Ventures, and Eight Roads Ventures.

The deal comes amid continued investor interest in India’s wealthtech segment, which has been one of the more active fintech verticals since last year. Startups like Dezerv have already attracted new rounds, while Stable Money is in the final stages of closing its next fundraise within just four months, Moneycontrol exclusively reported, signalling growing conviction in platforms catering to India’s expanding base of affluent and retail investors seeking diversified, yield-generating products.

What does Wint Wealth do?

Founded in 2020 by Ajinkya Kulkarni, Abhik Patel, Shashank Chimaladari, and Anshul Gupta, Wint Wealth operates as an online marketplace for fixed-income investments, regulated by SEBI under the Online Bond Platform Provider (OBPP) framework. The platform allows retail investors to access corporate bonds, securitised debt instruments, and NBFC-issued non-convertible debentures (NCDs), products that were earlier limited to institutional investors.

Typically offering yields between 9–12 percent, Wint positions itself as a safer, higher-return alternative to fixed deposits. Investors can start with low minimum ticket sizes of Rs 1,000–Rs 10,000, depending on the product. The company says all listed instruments undergo extensive due diligence and credit assessment, and has previously claimed to have maintained “zero defaults” across its offerings.

It competes with a growing set of digital wealth platforms such as Stable Money, Kuvera, Grip Invest, and InCred Money, all of which are racing to capture India’s emerging retail investor base by offering diversified products across mutual funds, bonds, and alternative assets.

How significant is this new round for Wint Wealth?

Besides strengthening its fixed-income investment model and diversifying into alternative and debt-based products, the new capital will also help Wint scale its lending operations under Wint Capital, its NBFC arm, and strengthen its technology infrastructure for retail bond investing. With competition intensifying to attract mass-affluent and new-age investors to digital investment platforms, the funding comes at the right time.

What new regulatory or business developments has Wint Wealth had recently?

In 2023, Wint Wealth obtained SEBI’s approval to operate as an Online Bond Platform Provider, allowing it to list and distribute debt instruments directly to retail investors within a regulated framework.

Around the same time, the company also received RBI approval to acquire a majority stake in Ambium Finserve, a Chandigarh-based NBFC. This move gave Wint an NBFC licence, enabling it to not just distribute but also originate and structure credit products.

According to the company’s website, its NBFC arm has disbursed about Rs 370 crore in B2B loans across over 40 clients, signalling growing scale and diversification beyond bond distribution.

Why is Vertex Ventures backing Wint Wealth?

Vertex Ventures SEA & India’s interest in Wint aligns with its broader push in India’s fintech and wealthtech ecosystem. The Singapore-based venture capital firm — part of Temasek Holdings, the Singapore government’s sovereign wealth fund — has been steadily ramping up its India investments with a focus on AI, fintech, and consumer brands.

Vertex closed its $541 million Fund V in September 2023, aimed largely at early-stage and Series A investments. It has backed a series of Indian startups across fintech and technology including Kiwi (credit on UPI), Metafin (SME lending), and SpotDraft, Spyne, and Nuuk in AI and SaaS. In the consumer space, its portfolio includes Licious, Pilgrim, and KukuFM, while it has previously made exits through IPOs and acquisitions from companies such as FirstCry and GlowRoad.
The fund has said it is particularly bullish on SME lending, wealthtech, and sustainable AI startups amid rising exit opportunities in India.

What is driving the interest in the wealthtech space?

Funding activity in India’s wealthtech space has remained robust over the past 18 months, making it one of the most resilient segments within fintech. Since early 2024, investors have poured fresh capital into platforms offering diversified investment products across mutual funds, alternative assets, and fixed income.

The surge is driven by a combination of factors--India’s growing affluent population, higher retail participation in capital markets, and regulatory clarity around online bond platforms and wealth distribution.

Among the major rounds, Dezerv raised about Rs 350 crore (roughly $42 million) in September 2025 in a funding round led by Premji Invest and Accel, while Stable Money is in advanced talks to close its next round from Peak XV, Moneycontrol exclusively reported. Many others like Powerup Money, India Bonds, and Grip Invest have also raised fresh rounds. While some focus on wealth advisory and portfolio management, others exclusively offer fixed-income or structured investment products, reflecting how every player is carving out a distinct niche in India’s fast-evolving wealthtech landscape.

The market has also seen strategic consolidation. Groww’s $150 million acquisition of Fisdom, for instance, underscored how larger players are strengthening wealth management capabilities. CRED’s acquisition of Kuvera last year marked a similar move to enter the space.