Zerodha Broking Ltd. is an Indian financial services firm that holds membership in major stock exchanges like NSE, BSE, MCX, and MCX-SX. Its services encompass institutional and retail brokerage, currency and commodity trading, as well as mutual funds and bonds. Founded in August 2010, the company is headquartered in Bengaluru and has a physical presence in various major Indian cities. The company was established by the Kamath brothers, Nithin and Nikhil. The name “Zerodha” is a combination of “Zero” and “Rodha,” the Sanskrit term for “barrier,” reflecting the company’s core principles.
As of 2019, Zerodha held the distinction of being the largest retail stock broker in India based on its active client base, contributing up to 2% of daily retail volumes on Indian stock exchanges. Beyond its financial services, Zerodha also invests in Kofluence, an AI-driven adtech influencer marketing platform. The company participated in Kofluence’s pre-series funding, totaling $4 million as of February 8, 2022. In June 2020, Zerodha achieved “unicorn” status with a self-valuation of around $1 billion. This valuation was determined through an ESOP buyback exercise, valuing each share at more than four times the book value of ₹700 per share. This significant milestone marked Zerodha’s entry into the exclusive group of startups valued at $1 billion or more, commonly known as the “unicorn club.”
The online brokerage firm Zerodha has clarified the reason behind Kite users receiving OTPs while logging into its Kite application. Users reported a mysterious pop-up message on the Kite platform. Zerodha addressed this by explaining that some users erroneously received email login OTPs due to maintenance activity, asking them to ignore the emails and apologizing for any inconvenience caused. In response to Zerodha’s clarification, some users suggested that the brokerage firm should invest more in technology. They recommended upgrading the platform, pointing out that many other brokers offer advanced charts and a smoother login process using QR scans. Zerodha recently lost its position as India’s largest stockbroking firm to Groww, according to NSE’s active client base data, which showed Groww having 66.3 lakh users in September compared to Zerodha’s 64.2 lakh users.
Despite the change in ranking, Zerodha reported a substantial 39% increase in profit after tax to ₹2,907 crore for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023, compared to ₹2,094 crore in the previous fiscal year. Revenues also surged by 38.5% to ₹6,875 crore in FY23 from ₹4,964 crore a year ago. Zerodha, headquartered in Bengaluru, manages approximately ₹3 lakh crore worth of customer assets. The country has over 12 crore demat accounts, and NSE’s active client data indicates 3 crore investors who traded at least once a year on the exchange.