Groww and Zerodha unlock U.S. equities for 46 million Indian investors

Groww, which serves more than 29% of India’s 46 million active brokerage investors, launched a U.S. equity trading feature earlier in October. The move grants retail clients access to over 10,000 American stocks and exchange-traded funds. Harsh Jain, the company’s co-founder and chief operating officer, noted that early users are heavily focused on Nvidia, SpaceX, Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Micron, and Meta. Fractional share ownership is included in the offering, a feature previously available mainly to wealthier clients using global banks.

Zerodha, holding a 15% share of active clients according to NSE data, is currently beta testing similar access. The company expects a full launch within a few weeks. Angel One, which lists 6.7 million active retail clients, is also preparing to enter the U.S. stock market. These platforms are responding to a surge in demand driven by the weakness of the Indian domestic market.

Somnath Mukherjee, vice president of corporate development at Zerodha, cited the lack of local artificial intelligence champions and the rupee’s decline against the dollar as key drivers. He stated that investors want to hold a portion of their portfolios in a stronger currency. Nitin Jain, chief executive at Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Singapore, compared the current enthusiasm for U.S. tech stocks to the earlier rush into cryptocurrency, describing retail interest as intense.

The performance gap between the two markets is stark. The Nifty 50 has dropped nearly 13% since the start of the year. In contrast, the S&P 500 has climbed more than 12%. Foreign investors have withdrawn a record $32.5 billion from direct Indian equities since January, according to NSDL data. Experts attribute the exodus to high valuations in India and the absence of a major AI leader, pushing capital toward markets in South Korea and Taiwan.

Money sent abroad by Indian residents for investment purposes is also accelerating. In August, residents transferred more than $321 million overseas for equity and debt investments, an 111% increase from the same month last year. For the financial year ending in March 2026, total outward remittances for such investments reached $2.6 billion. Tanvi Kanchan of Anand Rathi Shares & Stock Brokers noted that investment now accounts for 11.7% of total outward remittances, up from 5.8% a year earlier.

The rupee faces pressure from these outflows, high energy bills linked to the Iran war, and the departure of foreign capital. The central bank has stepped in to stabilize the currency. Kanchan warned that rising retail outflows could amplify currency pressure at a vulnerable moment. Nitin Jain suggested that the Indian regulator might reconsider its stance on retail access to U.S. markets as participation grows.