UPDATED 00:12 EDT / MARCH 18 2021

APPS

Investment platform startup Republic raises $36M to help investors exit early

Investment platform startup Republic has announced it has raised $36 million in new funding to build a system for investors to sell their stakes sooner than the eight to 10 years it usually takes for startups to return money.

The Series A round into the company, formally named OpenDeal Inc., was led by Galaxy Interactive and included Tribe Capital, Motley Fool Ventures, Broadhaven Ventures and Prosus Ventures.

Founded in 2016, Republic offers an investment platform open to everyone to invest in private deals, including tech startups, real estate, video games and cryptocurrency companies. Founded on the principle that sought-after investment opportunities should not be limited to small, closed networks of investors, which is the more typical Silicon Valley model, the company believes that “people should be able to invest in the future they believe in.”

Republic offers a mix between early-stage venture capital and crowd funding, all completely legal under “Reg CF,” a regulation from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The regulation allows a company to raise up to $5 million but does limit non-accredited investors on how much they can invest over a period of 12 months. The early-stage investor side is legal to a point under Regulation A and Regulation D.

The company pitches its offering as providing curated deals for investors of all experience levels and interests while empowering founders with access to a diverse and engaged investor base. Bloomberg reported that Republic allows non-accredited investors “to get in on the startup ground floor with as little as $10″ but usually it’s $100 or $150 as a base starting level. The investment opportunities Republic offers are also sometimes limited depending on where users live as well.

“We have entered a new era of investing, one in which all stakeholders of a business can become shareholders,” Republic Chief Executive Officer Kendrick Nguyen said in a statement. “The support of marquee institutional investors in Republic’s funding round is indicative of the vast potential of our mission: to enable investors everywhere to align their passion with profit.”

Including the new funding, Republic has raised $68 million to date, according to Crunchbase.

Disclosure: The author is an investor in Relay on Demand and Plant an App through Republic.

Image: Republic

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