Charles Schwab backs Singapore’s Qapita, a Carta challenger

Qapita, a Singapore-based fairness administration platform, has raised $26.5 million in a Sequence B spherical led by Charles Schwab.

As a part of the deal, Charles Schwab has launched a brand new platform referred to as Schwab Non-public Issuer Fairness Providers — powered by Qapita — which let’s U.S. startups handle their cap tables, administer inventory plans, and put together for public listings.

Based in 2019 by former banker Ravi Ravulaparthi (CEO) with Lakshman Gupta (COO) and Vamsee Mohan (CTO) (pictured above, from left to proper), Qapita helps non-public firms monitor possession, handle worker fairness, and facilitate secondary share gross sales. The startup serves non-public firms throughout Southeast Asia and the U.S., and likewise offers its platform for listed corporations in India to handle fairness after going public.

Qapita started as a platform to handle cap tables after Ravulaparthi, throughout his earlier banking profession, observed that many firms nonetheless relied on spreadsheets. When the startup launched in January 2021, it expanded the platform primarily based on early buyer suggestions to incorporate an fairness administration device for worker inventory plans, initially launched in beta. Competitor Carta later entered the Indian market however exited in 2023, giving Qapita room to strengthen its place.

The startup presently has about 2,700 firms utilizing its platform, it says. Roughly 70% are primarily based in India and 20% in Southeast Asia, together with Singapore and Indonesia. Qapita counts round half of India’s unicorns amongst its prospects, Ravulaparthi mentioned in an interview.

Whereas Qapita presents free entry to its platform for early-stage firms, about half of its customers — roughly 1,400 corporations — pay for not less than one in every of its companies, Ravulaparthi instructed TechCrunch.

Along with India and Southeast Asia, the startup has a couple of customers within the U.S. as a part of its early market testing. Nonetheless, this partnership will considerably increase its presence within the U.S.

“In fact, the U.S. is a really massive market. There are a couple of choices within the non-public market house within the U.S., however they’re too few for a market of that dimension,” Ravulaparthi mentioned of rivals.

Charles Schwab already handles inventory plans for main public firms. Nonetheless, this deal offers it a foothold with non-public firms letting it compete for startups with Carta, Pulley, or Morgan Stanley’s Shareworks.

The platform will present fairness administration instruments to automate cap desk processes, produce studies and dashboards, and hyperlink with different monetary programs. It can additionally tie into Schwab’s wealth administration community, enabling firms and their staff to handle inventory plans and put together for IPOs.

Qapita’s Sequence B additionally included participation from its present buyers, Citi and MassMutual Ventures. This funding may also assist the startup improve its platform by launching a fund admin product throughout a number of markets.

So far, the startup has raised greater than $80 million in funding and has a headcount of 300 staff.