The problem
Before 2010, an Indian retail investor paid a percentage cut on every trade, wrestled with terminal software built for dealers, and learned the market through paid tips rather than real education — costs that kept small savers out of equities.
How it works
Zerodha, started on 15 August 2010 to break the barriers traders face in cost, support, and technology, runs its own stack: Kite for trading, Console as the back office, Coin for direct mutual funds, Kite Connect APIs for developers, and Varsity plus TradingQ&A as free open education. Its Rainmatter arm funds fintech startups to grow Indian capital markets.
Pain points
Brokerage that eats small-ticket returns, confusing margins and settlement paperwork, and a guidance vacuum for first-time investors.
Business model
Zero brokerage on equity delivery with flat fees on intraday and F&O, extended since December 2024 into margin funding (MTF) interest income, which now contributes about a tenth of revenue.
Challenges
Broking revenue moves with market cycles: brokerage income fell from Rs 3,600 crore in FY24 to Rs 2,738 crore in FY26 while net transaction charges dropped to zero, leaving FY26 revenue and profit below the FY24 peak and making MTF interest critical to stability.
Funding
- Raised: bootstrapped — Nithin Kamath founded Zerodha in 2010 with own capital and it never took venture funding (company).
- FY24: Rs 8,320 crore revenue and Rs 4,700 crore profit, up from Rs 6,875 crore revenue the year before, disclosed by the CEO (Mint, Sep 2024).
- Valuation: MISSING.
Latest — August 2026
Marking 16 years, founder-CEO Nithin Kamath said Zerodha now watches assets under management rather than active-client share; FY26 revenue stood at Rs 7,464 crore with PAT of Rs 4,283 crore, and delayed-payment plus MTF income rose from Rs 22 crore in FY25 to Rs 448 crore in FY26.