Despite market worries, Peter Thiel-backed Shares nabs $40 million for social investing app
Summary
London-based investment app Shares has closed $40 million in funding to tap into a boom in retail trading brought on by the pandemic. The startup also plans to enter the Web 3 space and roll out its crypto-asset proposition.Leading the round was Peter Thiel-founded Valar Ventures. The companys earlier investors include early backers of N26, Wise and co-founder of Freetrade.Founded in 2022 by Benjamin Chemla, Fran\xe7ois Ruty, and Harjas Singh, the UK-based company offers a social trading platform aimed at first-time investors. Shares was launched after the pandemic sparked a surge in retail trading and scores of first-time investors took to apps to put spare cash into the stock market. The app combines the simplicity of an investment product with all the features users would expect from a social media app to create a unique trading community offering users no-minimum, no fee access to hundreds of stocks from just \xa31.Key features include social trading where users can buy or sell and share their views on the investments by sharing captions and GIFs.