Pune, Dec 3: Definedge Securities Broking Private Limited a Pune-based fintech and brokerage firm renowned for its innovative trading tools and investor-education ecosystem, is pleased to announce the successful close of its first institutional angel round of investment. The investment was led by a distinguished group of industry veterans and angel investors, including Hemant Luthra, Ajay Srivastava, D. Prasad, Nitin Agarwal, and Madhusudan N. Sarda (among others). While the amount
ofcapitalinvested remains undisclosed, undisclosed, the caliber of the investor syndicate demonstrates strong confidence in leadership, vision, and execution roadmap of Definedge.
Definedge, founded by Prashant Shah, Co-founder & CEO and Rajesh Badiye,Co-founder & CIO began as a research-led investor education platform before expanding into full-service broking. The company has earned strong community trust by building powerful analytical tools and offering practical, accessible education for traders and investors. Known for its flagship options analytics platform, Opstra, and its leading annual trading and investing conference, Definedge has developed a deeply integrated suite of in-house tools spanning technical and fundamental analysis, options strategies, mutual funds, momentum investing, and algorithmic trading. This unified, product-first approach positions Definedge uniquely in the Indian brokerage landscape.
Talking about it, Prashant Shah, Co-founder & CEO, said;
“Unlike most startups, we didn’t begin with a brokerage license; we began building trust, knowledge, and community. Our mission is to democratize access to professional-grade trading tools and education for Indian traders and investors. Over the years, we have created a transparent, product-first ecosystem that unites learning, analysis, and automation. With this strategic partnership, we aim to deliver institutional-grade precision and intelligence to the Indian trading and investing community.”
This announcement comes in the middle of a major shift in India’s financial landscape. Rising incomes and a digital-first mindset are rapidly moving household wealth away from traditional savings and into capital markets. Registered investor base of NSE has crossed 240 million, and mutual funds now command a significantly larger share of household savings. The AUM-to-deposit ratio of the mutual fund industry has more than doubled from around 10% in March 2014 to 23.8% in March 2024.
This shift reflects a strong appetite for market-linked returns, but it also underscores a critical challenge: empowering this growing wave of new investors with tools and education that enable informed, disciplined participation, not speculation.
With the backing of a strong syndicate of seasoned investors, Definedge will channel new capital to accelerate product innovation, expand its education and community ecosystem, and enhance user growth. The company aims to launch one of India’s first-of-its-kind algo platform, strengthen other innovative offerings like Opstra, Momentify and Zone App, with deeper insights and automation, scale live events and learning programs to empower traders and investors, and drive user acquisition through its integrated product-and-education model. It will also reinforce its infrastructure, compliance, and user experience to ensure the platform remains robust, transparent, and scalable.
Leveraging the support of seasoned industry veterans, Definedge gains access to a powerful blend of expertise and leadership. Hemant Luthra, with senior roles across the Mahindra Group’s engineering, aerospace, and automotive businesses, brings deep industrial governance experience. Ajay Srivastava, founder and managing director of Dimensions
Corporate Finance Services, adds strong capabilities in investment banking, restructuring, and capital markets. D. Prasad, founder of Bigdatamatica Solutions and an active angel investor, contributes valuable insight into technology, analytics, and early-stage investing.
“We are delighted to back Definedge. The company’s combination of strong domain expertise, trusted community, and product-first mindset makes it a rare opportunity in Indian fintech,” said Hemant Luthra.
“Definedge is not a typical brokerage. It is a wealth tech geared to make your investment work well and safe. Its focus is not to make you trade, but to make research and AI tools available to make you successful.” added Ajay Srivastava.
“As an angel investor, I look for founders who combine clarity of purpose with execution strength, which Prashant and Rajesh both exhibit, and the Definedge story resonated strongly,” commented D. Prasad.
“India’s retail trading segment is evolving rapidly. Having invested in more than 125 startups, I am excited to support Definedge in bringing institutional-quality tools to the mass market,” said Nitin Agarwal.
“Entrepreneurship is about building durable, scalable businesses. I see in Definedge the credentials, the talent, and the vision to do just that,” noted Madhusudan N. Sarda.
Nitin Agarwal, co-founder of ESOPPDhan and a serial angel investor, brings extensive experience in financing, startups, and equity structuring, while Madhusudan N. Sarda, Investment strategist at Credent Asset Management, strengthens the consortium with hands-on entrepreneurial and execution expertise across infrastructure and engineering.
Together, these veteran investors provide governance depth, market insight, technological perspective, and execution-driven support, signaling strong confidence in vision and long-term strategy of Definedge.
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