The strategic alliance will enable Stocktwits’ expansion into the Indian market on the heels of its $30 million Series B funding round
Mumbai, December 19, 2021: Stocktwits, the original social platform for investors and traders across various asset classes including stocks, crypto and other emerging investments, today announced a strategic partnership with Times Bridge to expand its offerings to Indian consumers. This development is part of Stocktwits’ Series B fundraise of $30 million led by Alameda Research Ventures, and which also includes an investment from Times Bridge.
With this partnership, Stocktwits joins Times Bridge’s growing global portfolio of category-creating, category-leading companies, including Airbnb, Coursera, Headspace, Houzz, Smule, Stack Overflow and Uber, among others. Times Bridge is the global investments and venture arm of The Times Group, India’s oldest and largest media and digital company, whose mission is to ally with the world’s most purposeful companies to enable their entry, scale and impact across India. Times Internet, a division of The Times Group, is India’s largest homegrown digital platform with 557 million+ active monthly users across categories as varied as news, streaming, music, real estate, cricket and finance.
Founded in 2008 as the world’s first social platform for investors, Stocktwits set out to transform the retail investing space by becoming a global hub for conversations among investors – from beginners to veterans. Indeed, the “cashtag” was invented on its platform. Stocktwits’ India launch corresponds with growth in the investing landscape across the country: in FY21, the total number of retail investors in India increased by 14.2 million, with participation from Tier II and III cities – including first-time investors under the age of 25 – fueling this growth. Stocktwits’ social-first philosophy will cater to this new generation of Indian consumers with not only retail-investor participation growing across the country, but also with people turning to one another – and social media – for making investing approachable and successful. As part of this partnership, Times Bridge will catalyze strategic partnerships, platform localization, and content for Stocktwits to drive adoption and impact across India.
Commenting on the partnership, Rishi Jaitly, Founding CEO of Times Bridge, said, “Times Bridge’s mission is to advance India’s entry, scale and leadership for the world’s best ideas in India. Stocktwits is one such idea that has, for years, offered groundbreaking social solutions, and access, for retail investors worldwide. And building on the growing dynamism of the investor landscape in India, we at Times Bridge – and across The Times Group – are looking forward to harnessing the power of our assets and know-how to support the localization, growth and impact of the Stocktwits platform across the length and breadth of India.”
Rishi Khanna, CEO of Stocktwits, said, “India is an incredibly dynamic investor market and we are thrilled to be partnering with Times Bridge to advance our mission and expand our reach in the subcontinent. We are looking forward to making a significant mark for ourselves in the Indian market where investors spanning many generations are ready for new and innovative platforms to learn, connect, educate and profit.”
Stocktwits’ global mission is to reimagine the future of financial-media investing and trading services by advancing a platform that hosts global conversations for investors and traders across assets, styles and experience levels. Today, Stocktwits has more than 6 million users from around the world, with over 1 million monthly active users. In 2021 alone, Stocktwits witnessed 50% year-on-year growth.