London-based Shares bags $40m to capitalise on retail trading boom
London investment app Shares revealed it had bagged a $40m funding round today as it aims to tap into a boom in retail trading brought on by the pandemic.
Shares, which offers a ‘social trading’ platform aimed at first-time investors, said it had now earmarked the funding to fuel its expansion across Europe and launch a crypto-asset proposition.
The London fintech has now raised $90m since launching in May 2022, with Peter Thiel-founded Valar Ventures leading the latest round.
Benjamin Chemla, Shares founder and CEO said the round showed “unwavering confidence” from investors as the firm gears up for growth.
“This latest investment from Valar Ventures will only serve to reinforce our growing momentum, supporting the next stage of our expansion into Europe that in turn will act as a springboard into international audiences,” he said.
Shares was launched after the pandemic sparked a surge in retail trading and scores of first-time investors took to apps like Robinhood to put spare cash into the stock market.
Co-founded by chief executive Chemla; François Ruty, Chief Technology Officer; and Harjas Singh, Chief Product Officer, Shares was the second most downloaded UK Finance App on the Apple App Store and has racked up over 150,000 users since going live in the UK in May.
Its user base underscores the shifting demographic of investors, with 66 per cent of those being Gen Z (below 25) and 26 per cent millennials (26-41).