Gold Investment Startup Gullak Raises $7.5 Mn

SUMMARY

The funding round was led by Chiratae Ventures, along with participation from White Venture Capital, Samved Ventures, Y Combinator, GMO, and Rebel Funds

Gullak allows users to buy gold and save money to invest in gold or digital gold via gold SIPs and one-time purchases

The startup said it will use the capital to boost brand presence, expand reach in tier II & III cities, and further deepen partnerships with jewellers

Investment and savings platform Gullak has raised $7.5 Mn (about INR 66.5 Cr) in its Series A round led by Chiratae Ventures, along with participation from White Venture Capital, Samved Ventures, and existing investors Y Combinator, GMO Venture Partners, and Rebel Funds.

In a statement, the startup said that it will use the capital to boost brand presence and marketing efforts, expand reach in tier II & III cities, and further deepen partnerships with jewellers to offer innovative solutions.

Founded in 2022 by Manthan Shah, Naimisha Rao, and Dilip Jain, Gullak allows users to buy gold and save money to invest in gold or digital gold. The platform allows users to invest via gold SIPs starting from INR 100 per day, or make one-time purchases. The savings can be redeemed as jewellery from more than 5,000 jewellery stores on the app, or via doorstep delivery of coins or direct cash transfers.

The startup claims that every user on an average saves INR 7,000 per month on the platform. Additionally, users have purchased more than 1,000 kg of gold on the app since inception.

Gullak claims to have an annual retention rate of 80%, with 50% of new users coming on the platform organically. Gullak has more than 10 Lakh downloads on the Google Play Store.

The startup last raised $3 Mn in its seed round from Y Combinator, Better Capital, among others, in 2023.

For years, Indians have seen gold as a lucrative investment and a means to diversify their investment portfolio to tackle inflation and economic crisis. Fintech platforms like Gullak and Jar are cashing in on this opportunity to deliver innovative solutions to its users.

Earlier this week, Jar said it was profitable in the first two quarters of the ongoing calendar year. The startup claimed it managed to reduce its loss before ESOP expenses by over 50% to INR 35.3 Cr in FY25, while its revenue soared to INR 208 Cr during the year.

However, some startups in the segment, like Plus Gold and GoldPe, also had to shut operations.