Qapita Raises $1.8 Mn in Seed Round Led by Paul G. Alle's Vulcan Capital The Singapore-based equity management startup will deploy the fresh capital to strengthen and build the team, accelerate product development and build its client base.

Qapita, a fintech startup that provides digital equity management tools to private companies, on Monday announced that it has raised USD 1.8 million in a seed funding round led by Vulcan Capital, the investment arm of Vulcan Inc. founded by Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Paul G. Alle.

Some early stage investors who participated in the funding round include Alto Partners Multi Family Office, Atin Kukreja, CEO of Rippledot Capital, Koh Boon Hwee, K3 Ventures, KDV Holdings, Mission Holdings and several Northstar Group Partners including Patrick Walujo.

Founded in 2019 by Ravi Ravulaparthi, Lakshman Gupta and Vamsee Mohan, Qapita through its platform QapMap enables private companies to record and manage equity ownership and employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). The stored information can be accessed by different stakeholders of the company, including investors, founders and even employees, based on the different access levels.

The company is building digital share issuance capabilities on the platform that will in future enable user enterprises to issue shares digitally.

"If records are systematically digitised today, then transactions can be digitised in the future. We also believe the platform will encourage more employee equity ownership in startups. The ESOP value proposition should be as simple as a pay slip," said CEO and co-founder Ravulaparthi.

"Having worked alongside multiple founders and startups during their fundraising journeys, we recognised the huge gaps that exist in digitising ownership records."

The Singapore-headquartered startup also has an office in Hyderabad, India and will serve customers based in Singapore, India and Indonesia.

Commenting on the deal, Tommy Teo, MD and Head-Southeast Asia, Vulcan Capital said, "Qapita is setting out to build a best-in-breed equity management platform for private companies and startups. The platform will empower all equity stakeholders to digitally manage their holdings in this region, where each country has its own unique regulatory landscape."

"With high growth companies remaining private for longer, we believe digital equity management and liquidity solutions to be a multi-billion dollar opportunity, and are excited to embark on this journey as a partner."

Qapita stated it will deploy the fresh capital to strengthen and build the team, accelerate product development and build its client base.