The latest funding will enable Pluang to further invest in its technology capabilities, expand its asset classes and increase the availability of its services across Southeast Asia
Pluang, the all-in-one fractional investing app that has become one of Southeast Asia’s fastest growing fintech startups, has raised $55 million in a funding round led by Accel. This is a follow-on round to its previously announced Series B, marking $110 million in total investment for the company in 2021.
Additional investors in Pluang’s latest round include Trung Nguyen, Andy Ho, Aleksander Leonard Larsen, and Jeffrey Zirlin (Axie Infinity founders), Alexa von Tobel (former Learnvest CEO), Daniela Binatti (Pismo CTO), Sujata Bhatia (Monzo COO), Jannick Malling and Leif Abraham (Public.com co-CEOs), Raghu Yarlagadda (FalconX CEO), Sergio Jimenez (Flink CEO), The Chainsmokers, BRI Ventures, Gold House, as well as previous investors Square Peg, Go-Ventures, UOB Venture Management, and Openspace Ventures.
Investors globally have recognized the size and potential of the Southeast Asian market, pouring in $8.2 billion in funding for startups throughout the region in 2020 alone. As the fourth most populous country in the world and Pluang’s home market, Indonesia is primed for economic expansion thanks to its digitally driven culture. The country’s high rates of internet and smartphone penetration, as well as its savings per capita (expected to double over the next decade) provide the pathway for first-time investors to establish new money management habits that were previously impossible.
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“Providing mobile access to an easy to use investment product is a massive element of boosting financial literacy and financial inclusion throughout Indonesia, as well as Southeast Asia, as a region,” said Claudia Kolonas, Co-Founder of Pluang. “Not too long ago, many of the asset classes that can be accessed through Pluang were only available to the privileged and wealthy while the rest of the population experienced low financial literacy and limited investing options. With this additional investment, our team will be able to accelerate our momentum and provide the tools, resources and education necessary to set more customers up for long-term wealth creation. We are absolutely thrilled to have the world-class team at Accel, as well as our additional investors, supporting us in the next stage of growth in Pluang.”
The Pluang app allows Indonesian retail investors to invest in a broad suite of asset classes while ensuring a simple and frictionless experience. As diversification is a key element of reducing risk for new investors, users can make micro-savings and micro-investing contributions across gold, indexes, mutual funds and crypto assets. In its efforts to expand its asset classes, the company will launch a feature that allows users to invest in fractional US single stocks, a first of its kind innovation in Indonesia.
Beginning with gold in 2019, Pluang began building a multi-asset class, single stop shop for investments and personal finance. The company’s deep integrations with regional super apps Gojek, DANA, Tokopedia, and Bukalapak provide a unique competitive advantage. The company currently boasts more than four million registered users in Indonesia, and is growing fast. From January 2020 to November 2021 the company saw 22x growth in monthly transacting users and 28.5x growth in users with an active balance.
Pluang plans to use the additional funding to further build out its technology capabilities and expand its asset classes. The company also plans to expand the availability of its app and services throughout key additional international markets. This expansion is core to the company’s mission of empowering and improving financial literacy and inclusion throughout all of Southeast Asia.
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Pluang was founded in 2019 by Kolonas, a financial services industry veteran in Indonesia, and Co-Founder and Co-CEO Richard Chua, a serial entrepreneur with experience at Google and Bain. What started as a classroom idea while the two attended Harvard Business School has grown exponentially thanks to the innovative technology and financial products the two have built together.
“This trend of mobile-first investors trading across multiple asset classes is one of the most exciting global fintech trends Accel has been investing behind,” said Accel partner Andrew Braccia. “We’re thrilled to support Pluang in their mission to provide wealth-building products and increase financial inclusion in not only Indonesia but across Southeast Asia.”
“We are deeply impressed by the team at Pluang, who in the span of two short years have advanced the financial products available to the general population and become the only player to acquire licenses for multiple asset classes, including access to fractional U.S. and global equities,” said Accel partner Ethan Choi.
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