Exclusive: API-driven trading startup Tradier raises $24.6M

Tradier, an API-powered retail brokerage for active traders, has raised $24.6 million in Series B funding led by Peak6 Strategic Capital, the company tells Axios exclusively.

Why it matters: While many retail brokerage platforms target first-time investors, Tradier is focused on advanced, self-directed traders who want highly customizable trading tools and charting options.

How it works: The company has connected with dozens of third-party modules and research tools through its API, enabling its users to choose the ones that work best for them.

• For a $10 subscription fee, in addition to commission-free stock trading, users also get access to commission-free options trading with no per-contract fees.

What they're saying: "If you look at the market, roughly 90% of trading comes from people who trade more than 10 times per month," Tradier CEO Dan Raju says.

• "We felt like the whole world was running towards the first-time investor, but the investor who was really in the market, trading in both bullish and bearish environments... We felt like that customer base was forgotten," he added.

Between the lines: The Charlotte, N.C.-based startup has been around for about 10 years. However, growth accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic as meme stock mania introduced a new generation of active traders.

• "There's a massive graduation effect in the market," Raju says. "All the traders who came in during the pandemic are now looking for more advanced functions like options."
• Due to that demand, the company’s equity share and option contract volumes doubled in 2022, with its average subscriber executing 150 trades each month.

Of note: Existing investors F-Prime Capital and KF Business Ventures also participated in the Series B round, which brings Tradier's total funding to $30.2 million.