EquityZen secures $3m funding
Brings company’s total funding to $6.5 million
EquityZen, a secondary marketplace for trading pre-IPO shares, has taken in $3 million in funding this week, reports Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company).
This Series A round brings the company’s total funding to $6.5 million. Draper Associates led the round, with WorldQuant Ventures also participating.
The EquityZen marketplace connects shareholders of private companies with its current pool of 20,000 accredited investors. The platform offers shareholders the ability to unlock liquidity tied up in privately-held shares of start-ups, while providing an alternative investment opportunity for investors, who can access the privately-held shares for a minimum of $20,000.
Since it was founded in 2013, New York-based EquityZen has closed more than 2,000 investments in more than 20 private companies. The company plans to use the new funds to expand its operations both within and outside of the US and to make investments more accessible to qualified investors.
Atish Davda, EquityZen CEO, says, “We are excited to partner with [Draper Associates] as we expand investment access to tens of thousands more qualified investors who are tired of sitting on the sidelines watching a small number of Silicon Valley insiders profit from the private returns.”
At FinovateSpring 2016, the company debuted EquityZen Institutional, which enables institutional investors to browse and access listings on behalf of multiple investment accounts. The institutional offering also has post-investment analytics to help advisors monitor risk and simplify reporting.
