Zerodha
Indian financial services company
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Zerodha Broking Ltd is an Indian brokerage and financial services company, based in Bengaluru. It offers an online trading platform that facilitates institutional and retail trading of stocks, derivatives, currencies, commodities, mutual funds, and bonds. It is a member of the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE), Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), and the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX).[3][4]
 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | August 2010 |
| Founders | |
| Headquarters | , India |
| Products |
|
| Services | |
| Revenue |  ₹8,847 crore (US$920 million) (FY25)[1] |
| ₹4,237 crore (US$440 million) (FY25) | |
| Owners | Kamath family (100%)[2] |
| Website | zerodha |
Zerodha was founded and bootstrapped by brothers Nithin and Nikhil Kamath.[5][6][7] As of May 2024, it has 7.5 million active customers registered with the NSE, making it the second-largest stockbroker in India.[8][9]
History
Zerodha was founded in August 2010 by brothers Nithin Kamath and Nikhil Kamath as a discount brokerage firm. The name Zerodha was a combination of words for the company's ideals: zero and rodha, the Sanskrit word for 'barrier'.[10][11] The company started with six employees and ₹2 crore in seed money drawn from Nithin Kamath's personal savings and contributions from a Singapore-based friend.[12][13]
Kailash Nadh joined Zerodha in 2013 to start its technology team and has served as the company's chief technology officer since then, building its trading platforms in-house.[14][15] In 2019, Zerodha became the largest retail stockbroker in India by active client base, overtaking ICICI Securities. It contributed up to 2% of daily retail volumes on Indian stock exchanges at the time.[16]
In June 2020, it became a "unicorn" with a self-assigned valuation of around $1 billion based on an ESOP buyback.[17] Zerodha had about 1.3 million customers in early 2020, which rose to nearly 10 million by the end of 2022.[18] In 2020, Zerodha applied for a licence to set up an asset management company (AMC) in India[19] and launched its fund house in 2023.[20]
In 2024, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) introduced measures to curb speculation in the equity derivatives market, including reducing weekly options expiries and increasing contract sizes, alongside an increase in the securities' transaction tax and a "true-to-label" mandate on charges. Zerodha's founder Nithin Kamath said the changes could reduce the company's revenue by 30–50%, as index derivatives accounted for a significant portion of its income.[21]
In the financial year ending March 2025, Zerodha reported its first decline in revenue and profit, attributed to the regulatory changes and reduced trading activity, with revenue falling 11.5% to ₹8,847 crore and net profit falling 23% to ₹4,237 crore.[22] Kamath said further derivatives restrictions might lead the company to charge brokerage on equity delivery trades.
During this year, there was also speculation that Perplexity was going to be collaborating with Zerodha. This collaboration was due to the launch of Perplexity Finance in India.[23] In November 2025, Zerodha invested in Tijori Finance, a Bengaluru-based market data and research platform, to scale AI-driven research tools. The company is now focused on launching several focused AI modules, with enterprise use cases being the focus of the next stage.[24] In April 2026, Zerodha applied to SEBI for a Category-I merchant banking licence through its subsidiary Zerodha Corporate Advisors, seeking to expand into investment banking services such as managing public offerings.[25][26]
Products and subsidiaries
A fixed commission of up to ₹20 is applied to all equity trading and derivative transactions, regardless of its size. Equity delivery is commission-free.[16] The company also offers commodity trading through its wholly owned subsidiary, Zerodha Commodities Pvt. Ltd.[27][28][29]
Rainmatter
In 2014, Rainmatter was founded as an early-stage fund focused on financing start-ups in new technology and new product development. Some notable investments by Rainmatter are in startups such as Cred, Finception, Smallcase, and Sensibull.[30][31] The company has also backed GoldenPi and WintWealth, which are bond purchasing platforms.[32][33]
True Beacon
In 2019, Zerodha started True Beacon, an alternative investment fund (AIF) with a defensive investment strategy.[34]
Zerodha Fund House
In October 2023, Zerodha launched Zerodha Fund House, an AMC, in partnership with Smallcase. It focused on index funds and had only direct plans which paid no commissions to distributors.[35][36] In March 2024, the fund house had an AUM of ₹10 billion (US$100 million).[37]
FLOSS Fund
On 15 October 2024, Zerodha announced the launch of FLOSS Fund dedicated to Free/Libre and Open Source projects globally. Zerodha committed to giving up to $1 million per year to support developers and communities that create and maintain such projects.[38]
Technical problems and interruptions
There have been multiple reports of technical issues, including glitches, system outages, and connectivity issues on Zerodha's Kite platform, especially on days with high market volatility and F&O expiry days.[39][40][41][42]
In November 2020, Livemint reported that some Zerodha traders complained of being unable to access its Kite platform due to a technical issue. Several users took to Twitter to report a login issue. Zerodha, in an official statement, acknowledged the problem.[43]
Other Initiatives
Rainmatter Foundation
The Rainmatter Foundation, backed by Zerodha, is an initiative to focus on climate change at the intersection of livelihoods, afforestation, environmental conservation, and rejuvenation. Kamath and Nadh are propelled by their belief that just reducing carbon footprint or re-greening, or making efforts in such lines would not help with the cause. They believed that people must be brought into the process as well.[44]
Their effort is balanced through two strategies. One is through grants and fellowships to non-profits and individuals. This is the main area of foundation's work.[44] The other interventions of the foundation are making investments in for-profit companies through Rainmatter Climate. The foundation has made several primary investments in climate tech startups like Blue Sky Analytics and Terra, both focusing on different aspects of climate change, such as creating data-based solutions and educational access to climate change, respectively.[44]
All profits earned through these investments go back to the foundation. Though beginning in fintech, the foundation's activities have expanded to include climate change interventions.[44] According to Sameer Shisodia, the CEO of Rainmatter foundation, the aim is to adopt a 'climate bias', and bring in ecosystems and institutions that will bring permanent and sustainable solutions.[44]
WTF Fund
In 2023, the CEO of Zerodha, Nikhil Kamath unveiled his plans of launching the WTF Fund, which was intended to help young entrepreneurs in beauty, fashion and home brands. The same was meant for entrepreneurs under the age of 22. The age was fixed at 22 as the mentors identified this as a difficult age to get funds.[45]
The initiative was born out of Kamath's podcast, "WTF is with Nikhil Kamath". The entrepreneurs selected for the same is to be mentored by Ananth Narayan (founder of Mensa Brands), Raj Shamani (Content Creator), Kishore Biyani (Future Group Founder) and Kamath himself.[45] The four of them have fixed Rs. 80 Lakh as the fund amount, with each contributing Rs. 20 lakh each.[45]
Zerodha Kite
Kite Web is an online trading platform operated by Zerodha. Its main features include multi-language support, live charts, and historical data.[46] It is one of the lightest trading apps and requires less internet bandwidth.[according to whom?] The app features search and push notifications along with a 'single-click order' functionality.[46]
In 2024, a new 'privacy mode' was launched in the app to ensure that no over-trading was taking place and to protect user data.[47] This feature was designed to ensure that user data and sensitive information remain secure. Another prominent feature of this mode is the concealment of real-time profit-loss data and other critical data, to minimise the temptation of over-trading.[47]
During 2026, an IPO Lock-In feature was enabled to aid better investment decisions. This feature allows investors to track IPO lock-in expiry timelines, aimed at aiding users in understanding potential post-listing price risks in newly listed stocks. This has enhanced the platform's analytical capability.
Awards
- They were recognised with the award 'Retail Brokerage of the year 2018', by National Stock Exchange.
- Outlook Money recognised Zerodha with 'Retail Broker of the year' award in 2017.[48]
- In 2017, they were also awarded the 'Young Entrepreneur of the Year (Startup) Award' by Ernst and Young.[48]