Why We Invested in PowerUp Money

India has made remarkable progress in wealth creation and improving access over the last decade. Digital platforms have democratized access to capital markets, with mutual fund investors nearly tripling from about 20 million in 2020 to roughly 60 million in 2026, and projected to reach 100 million by 2030. Over the same period, industry AUM more than doubled to over $900 billion. Yet mutual fund penetration remains below 5% of the population. 

There is a growing pool of investable wealth in India, due to high gross domestic savings rate, strong economic growth, and rising incomes. At the same time, there is a structural shift away from traditional assets such as physical gold and real estate toward capital markets. Unlike in the US, active mutual funds in India face no tax disadvantage relative to passive funds like ETFs. These trends combine to create a substantial runway for mutual fund growth in India.

While digital platforms have simplified investing, personalized wealth advisory remains inaccessible to millions. Traditional wealth advisory has largely served high-net-worth individuals, as high servicing costs make smaller portfolios economically unviable, leaving mass-affluent Indians underserved. At the same time, with 40 distinct mutual fund categories and over 2,000 fund offerings to choose from, investors face complex decisions.

We believe two shifts are transforming wealth advisory in India. First, digital public infrastructure is improving access to financial data. The Account Aggregator framework enables secure, consent-based sharing of financial information across institutions, while MF Central consolidates mutual fund holdings across asset managers. Second, AI is reducing the cost of investment research, portfolio analysis, personalized recommendations, and advisory workflows.

The convergence of growing mutual fund complexity, accessible financial data, and AI enables delivery of personalized, research-backed wealth advisory at a fraction of traditional costs.

PowerUp Money is capitalizing on this opportunity, bringing AI-powered wealth management to millions of Indians. We are privileged to lead a $10 million funding round, joined by existing investors Peak XV Partners, Accel, Blume Ventures, Kae Capital, 8i Ventures, and DeVC in supporting the company’s next phase of growth.

A founder on a mission transform wealth advisory

PowerUp’s founder Prateek Jindal spent over a decade building consumer fintech products as co-founder of Uni Cards and a product leader at Ola Financial Services. In these roles, he witnessed firsthand how technology was transforming access to financial services in India, and gave him a deep understanding of consumer behavior, financial products and building digital-first businesses at scale.

During his time at Uni, Prateek began exploring how technology and AI could transform the way Indians manage their investments. Convinced that the next wave of fintech innovation would move beyond product access toward personalized wealth management, he set out to build PowerUp Money. “AI makes it possible to deliver a much more comprehensive, wealth-manager-like experience digitally and at a fraction of traditional costs,” Prateek says.

Prateek assembled a seasoned leadership team with deep expertise across fintech, investment advisory, product and engineering, including Chief Investment Officer Amar Ranu, Chief Design Officer Harshil Sharma, and Arush Kapoor as Head of Product. They’ve worked at successful companies such as Uni, Groww, Upstox, Anand Rathi and Centrum.

Delivering AI-led digital wealth advisory at scale

PowerUp Money combines investment research, technology, AI and human expertise, all wrapped within the right regulatory guard rails to deliver personalized wealth management solutions at scale. 

Its flagship subscription product, PowerUp Elite, offers research-backed guidance on mutual funds selection, portfolio monitoring, and rebalancing. Within just 18 months of launch, PowerUp has grown to over 1.5 million customers, tracking more than $25 billion in mutual fund portfolios, with Elite crossing 100,000 paid subscribers.

Building on Elite, PowerUp has launched Elite Prime, an AI-powered digital wealth management offering that leverages AI to continuously analyze portfolios, adapt to evolving financial goals and deliver personalized financial planning, asset allocation and portfolio guidance. Elite Prime aims to deliver a wealth-manager-like experience at a fraction of traditional costs using an AI wealth coach and personal assistant, while also identifying portfolio gaps and recommending diversification into asset classes such as gold, silver and global investments.

For investors seeking hands-on support, PowerUp Infinite provides human-led managed advisory covering financial planning, portfolio construction and ongoing wealth management. Infinite has scaled to over $50 million in assets under management within 10 months of launch, reflecting growing demand for personalized advisory.

Elite, Elite Prime and Infinite together position PowerUp to serve investors across their wealth journey, from self-directed investing to full-stack digital and human-led wealth management. “Different investors need different levels of support,” Prateek says. “Our ambition is to build one platform that can serve customers across that entire spectrum.”

Building a full-stack wealth management platform

As Indian households build greater financial wealth, PowerUp aims to become a full-stack wealth management platform, expanding beyond mutual funds into broader asset classes, insurance, retirement planning and other financial needs.

We have been particularly impressed by Prateek and the team’s strong product instincts, rapid iteration and customer-first approach. The fresh capital will accelerate product innovation, strengthen technology capabilities, and scale Infinite’s managed advisory business.

We are excited to partner with Prateek and the PowerUp Money team as they redefine wealth management in India, making trusted, personalized financial advice accessible to millions of Indians and helping them build lasting wealth.