Zerodha, the stock brokerage firm, is set to introduce US stock market investments by the next quarter, as announced by founder and CEO Nithin Kamath. This move marks the company’s entry into a market segment it has previously avoided, amid an increase in competition from other players.
During a recent Ask Me Anything session on YouTube, Kamath addressed inquiries from users regarding US investments. “We are working on it, and we should have something in the next quarter. It is a product launch,” he stated, highlighting the company’s proactive approach.
This development comes at a challenging juncture for the Bengaluru-based firm, which has reported its first decline in revenue and net profit in over a decade. For fiscal year 2025, Zerodha’s net profit fell to ₹4,200 crore, down from ₹5,500 crore in the prior year, while revenue decreased to ₹8,500 crore from ₹10,000 crore. The company has cautioned that FY26 could see revenues drop by 40 percent compared to FY24, primarily due to newly implemented regulatory changes affecting futures and options trading.
Significantly, Zerodha has gained regulatory clarity via the Gift City, India’s international financial services center. “This has been a long-pending thing. We now have the requisite regulatory clarity through GIFT City,” stated Kailash Nadh, Zerodha’s CTO. The firm is working to create a seamless experience for users both on the backend and frontend.
In Gift City, two main platforms facilitate international stock investments: India INX’s Global Access and NSE-IX’s Unsponsored Depository Receipts (UDRs) for US stocks. The Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) designates Gift City as an international territory for financial transactions, similar to financial hubs like Dubai and Singapore. Financial services in this jurisdiction are governed by a single regulator, the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA).
Until now, Zerodha has refrained from offering products related to US investments, even as competitors such as Angel One, INDmoney, JM Financial, Axis Direct, HDFC Securities, Kuvera, and 5paisa provide such services. Groww, another significant firm, had allowed consumers to invest in US stocks until January 2024 but halted new onboarding due to difficulties in the remittance process and a 20 percent Tax Collected at Source (TCS) on investments exceeding ₹7 lakh in foreign stocks or mutual funds.
Previously, Indian stock brokers facilitated US investments through partnerships with US brokers or via Indian mutual funds that invested in US stocks. However, many mutual funds have ceased accepting new investments after reaching the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) limits on foreign investments, which cap individual fund houses at $1 billion and the overall industry at $7 billion.
The regulatory framework provided by the Gift City route offers Zerodha and other brokers a clearer pathway to deliver international investing options for Indian retail investors.
Published on October 27, 2025.
