Nubra, Zanskar Technology’s brokerage and execution engine for institutions and active traders, has raised ₹25 crore from BlackSoil Capital to expand its institutional and retail broking business. The pitch is clear: Indian markets now have tons of broker apps, but serious traders still run into fragmented tools, slower execution, and heavy dependence on third-party plumbing. Founded in 2022 by Mayank Sachan and Vandana Jain, the Bengaluru-based company is trying to fix that with a more vertically integrated stack. That’s why this Nubra trading platform funding round matters more than the usual startup cheque.
What is the Nubra trading platform and how does it work?
The Nubra trading platform is a brokerage product layered on top of Zanskar’s own execution infrastructure. Retail users can open an account in 3 steps: sign up, complete KYC and fund the account, then start trading from the terminal. Institutional clients can go much deeper. They can plug into custom execution infrastructure and low-latency trading APIs built for quants, algo desks, and sophisticated trading teams.
The product is aimed at traders who want more than a basic buy-sell screen. Nubra offers an advanced option chain and a multi-leg strategy builder. It also includes live market scanners, institutional-grade charts, and research tools spanning technical and fundamental analysis. Its API layer exposes market data and orders. It also covers positions, holdings, funds, and real-time feeds through Python SDK and REST interfaces, which makes it usable for manual traders and teams building their own systems.
That matters because a lot of active traders still patch together separate tools for scanning, strategy logic, charting, and execution. Nubra is trying to collapse that workflow into one broker-controlled environment. On the institutional side, it also offers the stuff that usually gets buried in product copy but actually matters: proprietary OMS and RMS layers, exchange co-location at NSE and BSE, custom execution algos, real-time dashboards, and post-trade analytics.
And it’s built for automation, not just screen-based clicking. Nubra documents third-party connections with Tradetron and AlgoTest. It also supports custom bridges for external tools through REST and WebSocket APIs. For heavier automated strategies, clients can register algos through the broker, get exchange-issued Algo IDs, whitelist IPs, and move beyond the standard 10 operations-per-second production threshold. That’s a serious feature set.
Who built Zanskar and the Nubra trading platform?
The founding story
Zanskar was founded in 2022 by Mayank Sachan and Vandana Jain. The company sits in a slightly unusual spot inside Indian fintech: it isn’t just a consumer broking app, and it isn’t only a back-end infra vendor either. Through Nubra, it offers brokerage and execution services to AMCs, PMS and AIF funds, VC and PE firms, family offices, proprietary desks, and retail investors. It also builds infrastructure for market making in international markets.
Why the founders fit this market
Sachan and Jain don’t read like first-time tourists in capital markets. Sachan is an IIT Kanpur graduate who previously worked at Goldman Sachs. Jain previously served as COO at a New York-based quant hedge fund, while another profile places her earlier at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and notes her engineering degree from VIT Vellore and MBA in finance from HKUST Hong Kong. That mix of trading, quant ops, capital markets, and cross-border exposure is exactly the kind of background you’d want if you were trying to build execution-heavy broking infrastructure instead of a pure distribution app.
Early traction, fundraising, and where Nubra sits against rivals
The company has moved fast. Within six months, Nubra onboarded multiple institutional clients and began acting as an authorised market maker for several ETFs. On the retail side, it crossed 25,000 demat accounts, while Zanskar had over 140 professionals as of March 2025. The new capital from BlackSoil will go toward expanding brokerage operations and strengthening its tech stack.
Investor interest was already building. Peak XV Partners held a 21.18% stake in Zanskar as of March 2025, signaling early backing before this round.
As co-founder Mayank Sachan put it, Nubra aims to bring institutional-grade execution and technology to a wider set of traders, with the BlackSoil partnership helping accelerate that vision.
Competition is intense. Retail broking is dominated by players like Groww, Angel One, Zerodha, and Dhan. Nubra isn’t trying to win on pricing or simplicity. Its edge lies in execution quality, owning key layers like OMS, RMS, APIs, and co-located infrastructure—positioning it closer to institutional execution platforms than beginner-focused apps.
Why did BlackSoil back the Nubra trading platform?
BlackSoil isn’t a tourist either. The firm was founded in 2016 and its portfolio includes 11 unicorns and 14 publicly listed companies. Broking infrastructure is a capital-hungry business even when it looks like software from the outside. Compliance, exchange connectivity, risk systems, distribution, onboarding, and execution infra all cost real money. Fresh capital here isn’t just growth fuel. It’s operating muscle.
That’s probably the heart of the thesis. Nubra already controls more of its stack than a lot of newer brokers, which means each new layer of scale can reinforce the product instead of just inflate vendor bills. BlackSoil is betting on a brokerage model where execution quality, API depth, and institutional credibility can translate into sticky, high-value customers on both the institutional and serious-retail ends of the market. That’s a narrower bet than mass-market broking. But it can be a sharper one.
Why is India’s broking market growing so fast?
The timing isn’t random. India had 192.4 million demat accounts as of March 31, 2025, with a record 41.1 million added in FY25. Over time, accounts have grown at a 21.94% CAGR, significantly expanding the base of active traders and investors.
The market has also shifted toward digital brokers, which now hold around 70% share, up from just 5% in FY16. NSE active clients reached 4.92 crore in FY25, showing strong retail participation.
Zoom out further, and the opportunity is even bigger. India’s market cap stood at ₹410.9 trillion, with projections of reaching $10 trillion by 2030. This creates a favorable environment for platforms focused on speed, execution, and advanced trading infrastructure.
Can Nubra turn execution tech into a lasting brokerage brand?
The Nubra trading platform isn’t trying to be the friendliest first app for someone buying a single mutual fund. It looks more like a broker traders graduate to when APIs, fills, latency, and workflow finally matter more than marketing.
If Zanskar can convert early institutional trust into durable trading volumes — and keep retail users engaged with product depth instead of price-led churn — this round will look smart in hindsight. If not, it’ll be another reminder that great trading infrastructure doesn’t automatically become a breakout brokerage business.
Read how SatLeo Labs is using $2.2M funding to build thermal satellite intelligence for Earth observation.
FAQ
What funding did Nubra raise?
Zanskar Technology raised ₹25 crore from BlackSoil Capital in April 2026 to scale Nubra, its brokerage and execution platform. The money is earmarked for expanding the institutional and retail broking business and strengthening the company’s technology capabilities.
How does Nubra actually work for traders?
Nubra works as both a trading terminal and an execution stack. A retail customer can sign up, complete KYC, fund the account, and trade from a platform that includes option-chain tools, strategy building, scanners, charts, and research. Institutions and algo traders can connect through APIs, WebSockets, and custom execution infrastructure.
Who are the founders of Nubra and Zanskar?
Nubra was built by Zanskar founders Mayank Sachan and Vandana Jain, who started the company in 2022. Sachan is an IIT Kanpur graduate and former Goldman Sachs professional, while Jain has a finance MBA from HKUST, earlier worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and also served as COO at a New York quant hedge fund.
Is Nubra a retail broking app or an institutional execution platform?
It’s both, and that’s the whole point. The Nubra trading platform serves institutional clients such as AMCs, PMS and AIF funds, VC and PE firms, family offices, and prop desks, while also offering retail broking and demat onboarding for individual traders.
