Smartkarma Co-founder Jon Foster pointed to the Sequoia investment as a big deal in an industry that rarely attracts VC attention
The round brings the company’s total investment to US$21 million.
Smartkarma is is a subscription-based company that provides a platform for investors to keep track of the latest news, trends and insights in the Asian business environment. According to Bloomberg, a subscription costs about US$7,500 per user. The company states it has over 150 subscribers.
The startup is taking on the investment research industry — and is specifically positioning itself as an option when a new legislation called MiFIDII goes into effect in January. In an effort to improve transparency, the law will require investment banks to charge for research, instead of including it in a larger package with other services.
SmartKarma wants to position itself as the world’s best independent alternative to these investment banks.
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The company has over 400 analysts covering 2,400 companies in 15 Asian countries. The company publishes insights every day and then engages in live discussions, debates and analysis from experts.
The startup plans to use the money to expand its Asia network, provide alternative services and improve the tech stack.
One of the key points brought up in an announcement video from Co-founder Jon Foster is the fact that the company received investment from a globally-leading tech VC.
“Up until now, new fintech firms in this space have generally got backing from industry-insider groups. This is the first time, and I think very significant, that we are seeing a large global tech player stepping up to support what they believe is a category killer in a sector which is huge and ripe for disruption,” he said.
Smartkarma was founded in September of 2014.
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