Upstox is an India-based investment platform founded in 2009 by Shrini Viswanath, Ravi Kumar, Kavitha Subramanian, and Raghu Kumar. Upstox users can trade and invest in Indian stocks, initial public offerings (IPOs), mutual funds, derivatives, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), digital gold, currencies, commodities, and futures and options. As of May 2023, Upstox has approximately 11 million registered users.
History
Upstox was founded in 2009 as RKSV Securities. The platform was launched with the intention of simplifying the acts of trading and investing in India. The company's operations began out of a small apartment in Delhi where they served a small number of local clients. After moving to its current Mumbai headquarters, Upstox gained thousands of new customers purely through word-of-mouth recommendations. In 2012, it was the first brokerage in India to offer unlimited trading plans. In 2016, the company was rebranded from RKSV to Upstox. Upstox Pro, the platform's suite of trading products, was introduced in the same year. Upstox also introduced an Aadhaar-enabled online account opening service, making the trading process completely digital. It was the first company in the industry to do so.
In 2021, Upstox partnered with three Indian cricket organizations: Indian Premier League (IPL), International Cricket Council (ICC), and Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). Upstox reached unicorn status in November 2021 after raising a Series C funding round of $108 million, which left its post-money valuation at over $3 billion.
Products
Upstox Pro is Upstox's suite of trading products. It is intended for professional traders looking to trade stocks, futures, options, currencies, and commodities. Upstox Pro has a mobile and web version. Both provide similar features, including a trading chart customizable with over one hundred indicators and an easy order placement system.
Upstox provides various tools to help users make informed investment decisions. Tools include calculators for things such as brokerage fees, margins, mutual fund returns, net present value, future value, and option value. Another tool Upstox offers is ready-made option strategies, allowing for safer options trading by way of providing pre-curated strategies, insights, and profit tracking. Paired with TradingView, Upstox provides users with an interactive trading chart complete with advanced charting tools and trading abilities.
UpLearn is Upstox's developing system of free educational courses on trading and investing topics. The courses are kept free of technical jargon so that they are easily understandable.
