From pits and walkie talkies to AI: Angel One Founder Dinesh Thakkar charts the 30-year-old stock broking company’s stellar growth
Retail broking firm Angel One believes artificial intelligence (AI) can be a disruptive force that personalises an individual’s financial journey. However, the real test will be whether AI can deliver tangible value to users, says Dinesh Thakkar, founder, Chairman and Managing Director of Angel One
In 1996, Angel One began as a pioneering stock brokerage firm in India, offering a novel approach by utilizing walkie talkies to keep investors informed about share trades executed on their behalf. As the years progressed, the company's technology evolved, transitioning from the use of walkie talkies to silent algorithms that execute trades in mere milliseconds. Retail investors now have access to real-time analytics through their smartphones.
Despite being up against newer players like Zerodha and Groww, Angel One has managed to maintain relevance with a user base of 3.95 crore. The company's founder, Chairman, and Managing Director, Dinesh Thakkar, and Group CEO, Ambarish Kenghe, recently discussed the company's journey, future plans, and its approach to artificial intelligence (AI) in an interview with YourStory.
Thakkar recounted how Angel One started during a time when computers were becoming more prevalent in India, and he saw potential in using this technology to revolutionize the stock market. After learning a hard lesson with internet trading, Thakkar decided to focus on mobile technology in 2010-11. By 2016-17, Angel One unveiled a fully integrated mobile app, capitalizing on the growing popularity of digital India, e-KYC, UPI, and Aadhaar.
However, to remain competitive and tap into a larger user base, the company made the bold decision to close its physical offices and go fully digital in 2018. This move aimed to serve a new user base from Tier-3 and Tier-4 towns, where Angel One had previously lacked branch offices. Thakkar emphasized that the company's success relied on understanding and addressing user needs, rather than simply adopting new technologies.
Today, Angel One is exploring AI to further enhance user experience and bring in latent users who may be hesitant to invest in stocks or mutual funds. Thakkar and Kenghe believe that AI can help solve these problems and effectively transition customers between various financial products on a single platform.
Written by urgent.news from YourStory's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
