Social trading platform eToro has raised $15 million in a funding round led by Spark Capital.
Over the past 12 months, eToro - which provides a platform in which retail investors can follow and copy the trading strategies of the best performing traders in the network - has experienced explosive growth, more than doubling its active user base to over two million registered users in over 140 countries. The company has also doubled its workforce over the past year to over 200 employees in Europe, United States, Australia, and Israel, where its R&D centre is located.
The capital injection will be used to open up the business to new international markets and for R&D purposes. The company has set its sights on properly entering the US markets, where regulatory barriers have so far restricted its prospects.
Santo Politi, general partner at Spark Capital, says: "The internet is breaking down long-standing business models across various well-established industries. Just as our portfolio companies, Twitter, Tumblr and foursquare have reinvented the way people interact online, eToro is now leading the charge to disrupt yet another industry, the financial services market."