New York-based prop firm Vest Labs has raised a $13 million pre-seed round led by Portal Ventures, Fortune reported. The round, which closed in July, also drew angel investments from senior executives at Citadel Securities, BlackRock, and KKR.
VC backing is rare for prop trading firms, let alone a pre-seed round of this size, as most competitors rely on bootstrapping.
While Portal Ventures appears to have relevant sector experience, having previously invested in on-chain crypto trading infrastructure startups, this is its first bet in a prop firm. Founder and GP, Evan Fisher, was an investor at Insight Partners, one of the largest VCs in the world, and has reportedly invested more than $600M across crypto, FinTech, internet, and software.
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Where Will the Money Go?
Cofounded by University of Pennsylvania dropouts Justin Ma, Rikuya Takatsu, and Maximilian Tsiang, Vest Labs told Fortune the capital will fund mobile app development, expansion of its 22-person team, and broader 24/7 multi-asset support.
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This strategy suggests the company is developing its tech in-house rather than relying on third-party platforms.
Highlighting the advantages of this approach, another investment-backed prop firm, Vienna-based TradersYard, told Finance Magnates: "Relying on a third-party platform lets a prop firm launch fast and cheaply... but you will die eventually," noting that thin margins from platform revenue-sharing deals undermine long-term sustainability.
Vest Labs positions itself as a perpetual futures platform offering equities, crypto, commodities, and FX trading with 80-95% profit splits, which aligns with industry benchmarks.
The firm told Fortune that around 26% of its 27,000 traders received cash payouts as of late September, alongside a 300% month-over-month surge in active traders and volume.
