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Thailand’s StockRadars secures funding, eyes Indonesian and Malaysian stock exchanges next
Last we heard from them in 2013, stock analysis app StockRadars was just starting out on its journey to conquer the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET). Today, it announced raising an undisclosed amount in a funding round led by CyberAgent Ventures and joined by East Ventures (1) to go beyond the Land of Smiles.
Having entered Singapore and its stock exchange last year – and receiving good feedback from users there – founder Teerachart “Max” Kortrakul reveals the team will be looking to acquire users in either Indonesia or Malaysia next, though he admits they are leaning towards the former at the moment – a task that East Ventures would certainly be able to help in accomplishing.
“Investing made simple” is StockRadars’ promise to its users, and it does so by helping them monitor the stock market via “radars” – tools through which investors can set specific criteria for the stocks they wish to keep a look out for. While the app comes with a free set of default radars, users can purchase additional radars with more advanced criteria if they so desire.
Despite selling in-app purchases, the app has managed to retain its title as the top grossing finance app in Thailand’s iOS and Android app stores over the past year with more than 150,000 downloads – Kortrakul did not disclose its active user figures. This might not seem like much, but he says it’s a big deal in Thailand.
“In Thailand, we do have a problem with pirated software as people tend not to buy the real thing. In one of our shopping malls, vendors sell all the apps in the app stores as a buffet model – they use the same Apple ID for everyone,” he explains. “So, to make money from in-app purchases at the rate we did, we’re quite proud of it.”
East Ventures co-founder Willson Cuaca cites StockRadars’ experience in mobile app development as one reason why he decided to bet on Kortrakul and his team. “They also have interesting technology in their stock trading-related platform, and the entry barrier to such a platform is pretty high,” he adds.
Adding to that point, CyberAgent Ventures Thailand investment manager Thanachat Tangsriwong thinks that the team is “operating in the right industry, in the right place, and at the right time.” He adds:
We all know the financial industry is something really sexy, and with StockRadars’ quest to simplify the life of financial investors (in line with their mantra “Investing Made Simple”) we expect something extraordinary ahead of them, based on what they have been doing so far. Also, we believe right now we have all the right partners, who will stay truly committed under the common goal – to take this business to the next level and that makes us feel excited about the potential of StockRadars. Despite being ambitious, we are in mutual agreement that our goal has now become very achievable.
See: In densely populated Bangkok, this startup will help you find a parking space legally
Disclosure: East Ventures is also an investor in TechinAsia. See our ethics page for more information. ↩
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