Dhan Delivers Massive 45X Returns to Kunal Shah, PhonePe Founders, and Other Angels
The news reports that the fintech investing platform Dhan has facilitated a highly lucrative early-stage exit for several angel and early institutional investors through a secondary transaction executed alongside its ongoing Series B funding round.
Key Highlights of the Exit:
Massive Returns for Angels: Certain angel investors, including CRED founder Kunal Shah, Miten Sampat, and members of the PhonePe founding network, secured a full exit from their investments.
They reportedly generated nearly a 45X return on their investment in under four years, which is being cited as one of the quickest and highest-multiple exits for angel investors in the Indian fintech space in recent memory.
Partial Exits for Institutional Investors: Early institutional backers like Mirae, Beenext, and 3one4 Capital also sold part of their holdings, achieving returns of 9–10X within about three years.
The Funding Round: The secondary component was executed in parallel with Dhan's $120 million Series B round, which was led by Hornbill Capital and saw participation from MUFG Bank, Beenext, and a pool of public-market investors and family offices.
Company Financials & Strategy:
Dhan, founded in 2021 by Pravin Jadhav, focuses on active traders and Gen Z investors.
The company has demonstrated strong financial performance, reportedly clocking around ₹900 crore in revenue in FY25 (up from ₹380 crore in FY24) and maintaining cash-flow positivity for multiple years.
The primary funds from the Series B will be used for the acquisition of Statzy (an algo-investing startup) and exploring other potential startups.
Context: This development highlights the potential for significant returns in well-managed, profitable fintech platforms and positions Dhan among the growing list of profitable stockbroking unicorns in India, alongside players like Zerodha, Groww, and Angel One.
The PhonePe co-founders have confirmed the exit but did not comment on the returns earned, while Kunal Shah and Miten Sampat declined to comment, according to the sources cited in the reports.