Digital broker Stake boosts Series A with $50 million top up from Tiger Global

Share buying app Stake has raised an extra $50 million in a Series A extension 12 months after raising $40 million in its initial round.

The world’s most active investor, US VC Tiger Global and DST Global Partners doubled down on the fintech in the extension raise, taking the total raised in over the year to $90 million

The capital boost comes after Stake announced last month that it would offer crypto trading by the end of the year.

Founder and CEO Matt Leibowitz said Stake has continued to go from strength to strength.

“The growth in our customer numbers and asset base continue to outpace last year and we’re blown away, given it has been a much tougher macro environment,” he said.

“This is a vote of confidence from both customers and investors in what we have delivered and what we are building towards.

“We have been truly humbled to receive continued interest from top-tier global investors as they witness the impact that Stake is having in the market.”

The Robinhood-like platform was founded in 2017, offering $0 brokerage for US stocks making its money on exchange rates. More than 4,000 US shares are available. The Sydney fintech also lets investors trade fractions of shares.

Late last year Stake launched an ASX platform with $3 CHESS-sponsored trades.

More than 100,000 ASX customers signed up to Stake in the five months since it launched last September, adding to its 450,000 global customer base built since 2017. The platform now has more than US$1.5 billion in funds under administration.

An estimated 100 cryptocurrencies will feature on Stake when it goes live in the final quarter of 2022.

“We’re building an investing experience for the next generation of investors, and we’re excited to put our time and energy into redefining how Australia invests,” Leibowitz said.

Tiger Global Partner Alex Cook said the firm was excited to support the company in the next phase of its growth.

“From day one, we’ve been impressed with the team’s focus on better customer outcomes and the innovative ways they connect their customers to the markets,” he said.