India’s appetite for gold is world renowned. For centuries, the yellow metal has been associated with prosperity, wealth, tradition and increasingly as a safe haven for investors, especially in times of economic uncertainty.
Such has been the penchant for gold that India has consistently emerged as one of the biggest consumers of the metal globally for the past many decades, with demand settling around the 747.5 metric tonne mark in 2023.
And with gold prices breaching the INR 80K mark per 10 gm — climbing just under 5% in two weeks — the gold rush is not about to subside any time soon. Since January 1, 2024, gold prices have gone up by a staggering 23%, underscoring its quality as a stable asset class.
When it comes to investing in gold, the rise of digital platforms disrupted the market just as it did with stock broking and mutual funds. What was previously limited to buying physical gold in the form of coins, bars, or jewellery, has now changed to digital gold.
Fintech startups catering to the digital gold rush brought in convenience and flexibility. These startups offer gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs), fractional ownership, and even cater to impulse buying by allowing gold investments for as low as INR 1.
The shift from physical to digital gold has created more liquidity and accessibility for investors, who want exposure to gold without the hassles of storage, insurance, or purity concerns.
Naturally, a whole host of investment tech startups and fintech companies are looking to tap into the gold rush. For instance, PhonePe, Paytm and Google Pay have built gold marketplaces connecting buyers to multiple platforms, while the likes of Jar and Gullak are offering differentiated gold investment offerings.
With Dhanteras being the peak day for gold sales in India, it’s time to look at how startups are disrupting the digital gold segment and catering to India’s new-age gold rush.
Editor’s Note: The list is not meant to be a ranking of any kind. The gold investment platforms have been listed in alphabetical order.
DigiGold
Airtel Payments Bank launched gold investment platform DigiGold in 2021 and currently offers gold investments through the Airtel Thanks App.
It took the telecom behemoth a step closer to offering full-stack fintech services, adding to its UPI and digital lending play. Launched in partnership with SafeGold, Airtel’s DigiGold operates just like any other digital gold investment platform, allowing customers to store gold with SafeGold at no additional cost, and enabling trades through the Airtel Thanks app.
Like in most other gold platforms, there is no minimum investment value requirement and customers can start with as low as INR 1.
Additionally, Airtel Payments Bank’s savings account customers can invest in gold using the Airtel Thanks App. Customers can also gift DigiGold to their family and friends, who have a savings account with Airtel Payments Bank.
Dvara Smart Gold
Founded in 2019 by Jaydeep Banerjee and Clemenstone Verghese, Dvara Smart Gold is backed by Axilor Ventures, angel investors as well as Dvara Holdings, the parent company.
Dvara SmartGold is part of the ‘Dvara Venture Studio’, which co-creates ventures with entrepreneurs and scales them up.
The platform allows customers to invest in gold through small, flexible instalments through uniquely designed gold micro-savings plans, wherein customers can invest as per their risk appetite.
With an SIP-like approach, Dvara enables customers to utilise their savings seamlessly at any point in time as per their requirement. The company claims its vision is to build a full stack financial services platform, anchored around gold as an asset class.
Groww
Even though Groww has built a reputation as a mutual fund and stock broking app, the company introduced gold investments to capture the wave of digital gold.
The company has attracted significant funding from prominent investors such as Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital, and has rapidly acquired users to become the largest digital discount broking platform in India by active investors.
The company reported 119% growth in its revenue for FY24 as a result of its rapid growth, with income rising to INR 3,145 Cr in FY24. Groww also maintained its operational profitability of INR 535 Cr for FY24 compared with INR 458 Cr in the previous fiscal year.
Mutual funds remain Groww’s strongest suit. As of October 2024, Groww’s active stock investor base stood at 1.2 Cr. The company claims that nearly one in four new SIPs in the country are happening via Groww.
Gullak
Founded in 2022 by Manthan Shah, Dilip Jain and Naimisha Rao, Gullak is a platform that helps users automate savings to invest in gold.
The startup claims its mission is to promote financial literacy and responsible saving habits. The app is designed for accessibility, targeting users who may be new to investing.
Uniquelly, Gullak users can also lease their gold to get an extra 5% return each year, apart from the returns they can secure annually through the digital gold assets. Alternatively, users can also choose between spare change savings and one-time investments according to their investment appetite.
The Bengaluru-based startup counts Kunal Shah (CRED), Y Combinator and Rebel Partners as some of its major investors.
Jar
Founded in January 2021 by Nischay Ag and Misbah Ashraf, Jar allows users to invest as little as INR 1. It claims to have more than 1.5 Cr users on the platform.
Users can automate savings and make daily investments anywhere between INR 10 and INR 500 in digital gold. In addition, they can also invest round-up amounts from their daily spending and liquidate without any lock-in period.
Recently, with an eye on diversifying its product mix, Tiger Global-backed Jar entered the ecommerce space with its D2C jewellery brand Nek. “Gold is widely understood and stable. Since our users save in gold, launching Nek as a jewellery brand was a natural progression,” cofounder Nischay said.
He added that revenue from the core digital gold vertical will remain the primary growth driver, contributing over 50% to the overall topline.
Jupiter Money
Founded in 2019 by Jitendra Gupta, Jupiter Money is a Bengaluru-based neobanking and investments platform that allows savings accounts customers to invest in digital gold assets.
The gold investment feature is a part of Jupiter’s array of fintech products, including banking, personal finance management, goal-based investments, and more.
It is pertinent to note that Jupiter received the NBFC licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in April last year, which has added to the company’s digital lending prowess.
It has raised a total funding of about $169 Mn till date and counts the likes of Tiger Global, Peak XV Partners, and Matrix Partners among its investors. However, given several regulatory headwinds in the fintech space, the company has not been able to eke out profits.
Jupiter’s consolidated net loss more than doubled year-on-year to INR 327 Cr in FY23, against an operating revenue of just INR 7.1 Cr.
Oro Money
Founded by Parth Shah, Sreekesh Krishnan, Rakesh Mani in 2021, Oro Money allows users to tap into the value of their gold assets.
It connects users with financial institutions to provide them with better access and accurate information about their gold’s worth. Oro Money claims to be combining traditional gold investment with technology, catering to users who prefer digital solutions. Currently, it is operational in Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, and Vijayawada, as per its website.
The Chennai-based startup includes Singularity Ventures, Three State Capital, PI Opportunities Fund and 021 Capital among its other investors.
Plus Gold
Founded by Raj Parakh and Veer Mishra in 2023, Plus Gold provides a platform for making investments in gold through systematic investment plans (SIPs) or one-time transactions.
With recent funding of $1.2 Mn led by JITO, Plus Gold plans to expand its tech infrastructure, improve user experience, and introduce AI-driven investment advisory services. The startup addresses key barriers like storage and purity assurance while targeting India’s massive gold market.
By integrating technology into the investment process, Plus Gold aims to attract both new and seasoned investors looking for a reliable way to diversify their portfolios.
The Bengaluru-based startup has raised INR 7 Cr in total funding. It counts the likes of US bank Wells Fargo & Company (WFC), Card91 cofounder Vineet Saxena, Amazon Pay head Vijay Rajagopal, among others, as its investors.
Pluto Money
Founded in 2023 by Muhammad Danish and Reev Ranj, Pluto Money is an online platform offering automated goal-based saving solutions.
The startup is focused on empowering users to make informed financial decisions and has hence focussed on goal-based savings as its primary model, with gold being part of an array of investment options.
Pluto Money offers features such as goal setting, spending comparison, customised expense checklist, and more. The company claims its platform allows users to automatically invest money into various low-risk instruments like emergency savings accounts, digital gold and others.
Ruptok
Founded in July 2020 by Ankur Gupta and Yashwardhan Aeren, Ruptok Fintech provides disbursal of loans against gold jewellery. Such loans can also be facilitated with digital gold as collateral.
Ruptok provides instant liquidity while keeping gold safe in secure vaults. It’s an ideal solution for those looking to unlock the value of their gold without selling it.
Ruptok’s fully digitised gold loan process disrupts traditional lending, reducing overhead costs while reaching a broader customer base with minimal physical infrastructure.
The startup claims to have disbursed loans worth over INR 300 Cr and served more than 2 Lakh customers to date. The platform also serves as a banking correspondent to CSB Bank and Fincare Small Finance Bank.
Thanks to colending agreements with partners, Ruptok offers loan top-ups to existing borrowers against the same pledged gold assets, based on the appreciation of the gold.
Spare8
Founded in 2021 by Ronit Harisingani and Shardul Saiya, Spare8 offers a unique platform where users can effortlessly invest in gold by rounding up spare change from their everyday purchases. This fintech platform enables micro-investments, making gold accessible to everyone, no matter their financial background.
By simplifying the process of saving and investing, Spare8 claims to promote active investments and financial literacy while helping investors build wealth incrementally. With no minimum investment requirement, platforms like Spare8 make it much easier for those testing the waters on gold as an asset class.
The Mumbai-based startup’s micro-investment model opens up a vast untapped market by catering to users who may not traditionally invest, creating a new customer base for digital gold.
Yellow Metal
Founded in 2020 by Rahul Boggaram and Nikhil Boggaram, the startup offers gold loans to rural people within 30 minutes. It charges an interest rate of 9.48% annually on gold loans, according to its website.
The startup ensures all its loans are backed by certified physical gold stored in secure vaults. Besides this, users can invest in digital gold with as little as INR 1, making it accessible to everyone.
Yellow Metal also provides instant liquidity options, allowing users to redeem their gold investments whenever needed, without the hassle of managing physical gold.
The Bengaluru-based startup counts WaterBridge Ventures, Spiral Ventures, LetsVenture’s LV Angel Fund and Java Capital’s Csquare Venture Partners Fund as some of its investors.
