Approaching a decade

As Rainmatter approaches its 10th anniversary in 2025, we look back at a journey that evolved far beyond our imagination.

Our Fintech origins

In 2015, when we launched Zerodha Kite, we also built Kite Connect – a set of APIs that allowed users and startups to build platforms on top of our infrastructure. The idea behind this was to enable startups to build applications that simplify investment and trading for retail investors, targeting niche usecases that may fall outside our core competencies. What we realised then was that while one could build apps using these APIs, the real support startups needed to succeed were capital and distribution to reach users. This led to Rainmatter Fintech, initially a side project to support like-minded teams helping Indians save and invest better. Some of our early Fintech investments included smallcase (thematic investing), Sensibull (disciplined options trading), and Streak (backtesting). Since then, we have supported numerous other startups in this space, expanding access to the Indian capital markets.

Broadening horizons – Climate investments

Since 2016, Zerodha has actively contributed to projects that benefit the community through CSR. However, by 2020, we recognised that while supporting various projects, we weren’t creating a focused impact in any particular area. A chance conversation between Nithin, K, and Sameer led to the establishment of the Rainmatter Foundation to support organisations and projects for climate action, a healthier environment, and livelihoods associated with them.

The Foundation’s work naturally led us to startups tackling crucial climate challenges in agriculture, waste management, energy, water management, and materials. We realised these solutions needed patient capital and a long-term perspective. While the Foundation team focused on grants, the Rainmatter Capital team augmented it by making investments in climate-focused startups. Today, we support over 25 such startups who work closely with our team and benefit from our partners’ insights.

Sports and Fitness

Our venture into fitness investments emerged organically from our culture at Zerodha, where we constantly encourage each other to prioritise fitness and well-being. In early 2023, this internal focus evolved into a strategic interest in the sector. Purely because we also wanted to find ways to support products and services that we all used at Zerodha and have a ringside seat to learn more from teams in this space. We now have over 25 investments across sports & activities, better food alternatives, and wellness solutions. The collaborations between these portfolio companies have created unexpected synergies — resulting in a whole greater than the parts.

The power of storytelling

We’ve also begun supporting passionate storytellers who inspire Indians. We recognise that many challenges in climate, health, and fintech require education and awareness. By backing teams that excel at storytelling, we hope to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs, share problem areas that need attention, and also build awareness among Indians. Our investments in Finshots, The Ken, The Arc, Teepoi, Plate and Sochcast are all examples of such investments.

Our investment journey

Since 2016, we’ve deployed approximately ₹700 crore across more than 100 startups. But the bulk of these investments were in 2023 and 2024, totalling nearly ₹500 crore in just the last two years.

In 2024 alone, we invested ~₹250 crore, split between 28 new startups and 19 follow-on investments. Here is a sector-wise breakdown of our investments in the past year.

We have carved out another ₹1000 crore to invest over the next few years.

Looking forward

At Rainmatter, our mission extends beyond just money. We bring patient capital to tackle long-term challenges, provide visibility to innovative solutions, and foster collaboration between portfolio companies. Climate and health represent crucial challenges for the coming decades, and we’re committed to supporting entrepreneurs who dare to tackle them. We believe in truly supporting entrepreneurs in their journeys by staying out of their way when it comes to running these startups. We do not intend to take any board seats and have no exit mandates. We think of ourselves as an advisor at all times and know that the people who spend the most time on the business know what is best for them and their teams.

These investments are all just channels for us to give back to the community. As Nithin often says, what is the use of all the money in the world if we keep destroying our health and polluting the one place we can call home? We all need to find ways to ensure everyone has access to good health, clean air, water, and a livable environment.

As always, if you are working on any of the problems above and are looking for a long-term patient investor and collaborator, share what you are building on our forum.