Online alternative investments platform Rally Rd has netted $7m in its Series A led by Upfront Ventures.
Other contributions to the round came from Anthemis Group, Social Leverage, and WndrCo. A handful of angels also took part including rapper/entrepreneur Nas, Betterment co-founder Eli Broverman, and Acorns co-founder Jeff Cruttenden.
Rally Rd is an online investment platform for rare alternative assets, with the initial assets available being blue chip collectible cars.
Alongside the digital investment platform, the company is set to open a showroom in New York which will display select investments available on the platform. There are plans to open retail showrooms in all key markets Rally Rd customers are located.
All assets available on the Rally Rd platform are made through an SEC-registered stock offering, which has a minimum investment of one share. Prices for shares typically being at $50. Following the initial offering, regular trading windows for assets take place enabling users to buy/sell shares through a secondary marketplace on the app through registered broker-dealers.
Over the past year, the company has attracted 50,000 members, with the average user being a first-time alternative asset investor and an average age of 26.
The company is looking to expand into new verticals early next year, including high-end sports memorabilia and art.
Through this funding line, Rally Rd will look to add experience features in the app to support the market demand.
Upfront Ventures partner Greg Bettinelli said, ?By combining passion and financial liquidity into a large market, Rally Rd. has created a new, accessible and exciting investment category that people enjoy and share while driving returns.
?As a result, they are attracting an incredibly diverse range of customers including those completely new to investing, and I cant wait to see how they continue to engage this huge potential audience.p>
Earlier in the year, Upfront Ventures participated into the $50m Series C funding round of digital mortgage POS software developer Cloudvirga. Its payment solutions help to automate the back-office workflows in mortgage processing.
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