MAM
“Shoonya is at the forefront of a revolution in the Indian trading landscape”: Shoonya by Finvasia’s Sarvjeet Virk
Mumbai: Shoonya by Finvasia is India’s leading multi-asset trading platform, co-founded in 2013 by brothers – Sarvjeet Virk (MD) and Tajinder Virk (CEO), also ex-Wall Street professionals. The vision behind Shoonya is to empower Indian traders and investors by enabling them to make smart financial decisions and achieve investment goals through an innovative and user-friendly trading platform. Finvasia is a regulated financial institution that provides a secure, reliable and credible trading platform for its customers.
Sarvjeet, along with his brother Tajinder Virk, has established an ecosystem which is disrupting the financial sectors globally. He had the vision to offer innovative and real-time end-to-end financial solutions that cater to the needs of all investors, regardless of their experience level. Thus, Shoonya was set up with the aim to make investing accessible and affordable for everyone through the Zero Commission model, a customer-first approach to investing and an innovative multi-asset platform that offers cutting-edge tools and advanced compatibility features.
Indiantelevision.com caught up with Sarvjeet Virk in an email interaction, where he shares additional insights on the company.
Edited excerpts
On Shoonya claiming to be a ‘True Zero Trading Platform’
Shoonya is at the forefront of a revolution in the Indian trading landscape. Since its inception, we have focused on providing traders with affordable trading solutions that democratize trading and encourage more people to become traders. From process innovation offered through our Zero Commission model to AI-led technological innovation, Shoonya has disrupted the trading community in India and created a positive impact for the investors at large.
Our Zero-Commission model not only sets us apart from the competition but also makes us a ‘true zero trading’ platform. We brought process innovation to the Indian trading landscape with the Zero-Commission model with 16 zero charges, eliminating brokerage fees, clearing charges, and hidden costs. We have made investing accessible and affordable for every individual, irrespective of their investment size or experience level. This disruptive approach has not only attracted a vast user base but also empowered countless investors to participate in the financial markets confidently, democratizing trading like never before.
On the other hand, we have led technological innovation with the industry-first AI-powered analytic tool that enables our customers to anticipate market movements, make well-informed decisions, and optimize their portfolio performance. It utilizes AI and machine learning to analyze extensive credible data of up to 1500 Indian scrips, providing predictive analysis and colour-coded signals for traders across many time horizons. It helps traders manage their risks and exposures, understand market volatility and optimize risk-reward ratios for robust strategies and save valuable time on research.
On the I Know First association enhancing the decision-making capabilities of traders
At Shoonya, we aim to empower traders with an innovative and user-friendly trading platform that enables them to make informed decisions and achieve their investment goals. Taking this vision forward, we partnered with I Know First, a globally-renowned AI-powered market analytics platform. With this partnership, we have introduced the country’s first AI-based feature to predict market movements and signals for different stocks.
The AI-powered platform provides analytics for up to 1500 Indian scrips, which includes stocks and indices from NSE and BSE. Our customers get the benefit of an AI-powered analytics view for all types of capitalization ranging from small to mid to large, helping them decide whether to hold, create or exit positions. The cutting-edge tool enables users to make informed decisions and optimize their portfolios.
On the customer responding to IKF and AI-driven trades showing an uptick on the platform
I Know First seems to be slowly but surely gathering attention by the platform users. AI model analysis is done on market indices to give wider perspective to our clients.
I Know First brings powerful AI based deep learning technology to the Indian traders. The Predictive Algorithm’s ability to identify the best opportunities and stock picks on a daily basis using extensive data research and analysis is unparalleled. The I Know First AI algorithm is being trusted by the world’s leading hedge funds, investment houses, banks, family offices, brokerage firms as well as high-net-worth individuals, allowing them to gain a competitive edge. This is a powerful feature for every Indian trader and it goes beyond the traditional advisory methods. We are confident that I Know First’s cutting-edge technology combined with Shoonya’s customer-centric approach will revolutionize the investment strategies of Indian traders. I Know First presents users with colour-coded Signals that enable easy interpretation of market movements and quick trading decisions. The dark green (BUY) and red (SALE) signals indicate strong market trends, while the light green and red signals represent weaker signals. I Know First’s Instant Heat maps is a predictive algorithm that allows you to generate instant heat maps for stock market forecasts across different time horizons of 3Ddays, 7Days, 14Days, 1Month, 3Months, and 1Year periods.
Furthermore, Shoonya’s clients can even analyze their existing holdings and make smarter decisions to rebalance portfolio based on investment strategies.
Uptick:
This feature was rolled out specifically for the users of the web version, and they are currently undergoing a free version. As a result of which the users are sampling the product. Given the positive adoption of the web users, we expect an uptick on the app version of I Know First.
On the market potential Shoonya is targeting and any aims for projections for 2024
As of July 2023, India has an astounding 123.50 million Demat account holders, which is our target audience. We are targeting everyone from newcomers and passive investors to active traders, intra-day traders and long-term investors. Our Zero Commission model, along with our customer-first approach, is making investing accessible to everyone, empowering them to participate in the financial markets confidently.
We see some level of saturation in the metro cities with regard to opening of Demat accounts and rightly so, because the entire fintech world is targeting the same population. We see tier 2, 3 and 4 cities as our target markets and mostly in our opinion the next wave of growth of demat accounts will come from here. These markets also serve as hotbed for fulfilling India’s financial inclusion goals.
Specific to the Company goal, we’re aiming to be among the top 10 brokers in the next 18 months based on the number of active clients.
On Shoonya breaking stereotypes in the broking industry in India
By design Shoonya was envisaged as a 0 brokerage business. The highest value of such a 0 brokerage model is derived by people who trade very frequently, which would encompass intraday traders & F&O traders. Given that our focus is on this segment, as mentioned earlier we’ve introduced I Know First feature to empower data based decision making, by unlocking the power of AI & ML. Further, we will soon be introducing the Account Aggregator onboarding module, where clients can share their declared accounts, with us for a seamless onboarding process. The earlier bottleneck where clients had to manually submit 6 monthly bank statements, will be eliminated and the onboarding process will be digitized.
On the company revenue for FY 23
Year end 2023, Shoonya witnessed a YoY growth of 150%. The year 2023-2024’s expected growth pattern is even better than that of the previous year based on Q1. The upswing is a resultant of better growth led by acquisitions and surge in account openings along with trading volumes till date. We anticipate high revenue as we continue to focus more on new product and features for clients.
On the active user base currently and key insights witnessed on the app
Currently our active user base is close to 1,50,000 users. Interestingly, we’ve seen an over 300% rise in customers in the age group of 0-24, in Q1 2023-24 compared to Q1 2022-23. Similarly, there is an over 200% rise in the age groups of 25-34 & 35-44 respectively, in the same period.
MAM
ASCI study uncovers how Gen Alpha navigates ads in endless digital feeds
‘What the Sigma?’ ethnographic report maps blurred boundaries between content and commerce for 7–15-year-olds.
MUMBAI: Gen Alpha isn’t scrolling through the internet, they’re living rent-free inside its never-ending dopamine drip, and the ads have already moved in next door. The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) Academy, partnering with Futurebrands Consulting, has published ‘What the Sigma?’, an immersive ethnographic study that maps how Indian children aged 7–15 (Generation Alpha) consume, interpret and live alongside media and commercial messaging in a hyper-digital environment.
The research draws on in-home interviews, sibling and peer conversations, and discussions with parents, teachers, counsellors, psychologists, marketers and kidfluencers across six cities. It examines not only what children watch but how algorithms, content creators, peers and parents shape their relationship with the constant stream of shorts, vlogs, gameplay, memes, sponsored posts and ‘kid-ified’ adult material.
Five core themes emerged:
- Discontinuous Generation, Gen Alpha is not growing up alongside the internet, they are growing up inside it. Cultural references, humour, aesthetics and language sync globally in real time, often leaving adults functionally illiterate in their children’s world. A reference that lands instantly for a 10-year-old in Mumbai or Visakhapatnam feels opaque or disjointed to most parents.
- Authority Vacuum, Parents and teachers frequently lose cultural fluency in digital spaces. The algorithm responsive, inexhaustible and perfectly attuned to preferences becomes the most attentive presence in many children’s daily lives. Rules around screen time feel increasingly difficult to enforce when adults cannot fully see or understand the content landscape.
- Digital as Society, Online and offline no longer exist as separate realms, they form one continuous reality. The phone is not a tool children pick up; it is the primary social environment they inhabit.
- Great Media Mukbang, Content flows as an ambient, boundary-less, multi-sensorial stream. Entertainment, advertising, commerce, gameplay, memes and vlogs merge into one undifferentiated feed. The line between active choice and passive absorption has largely collapsed.
- Blurred Ad Recognition, Children aged 7–12 typically recognise only the most overt advertising formats. Influencer promotions, gaming integrations and vlog sponsorships often register as organic entertainment. Children aged 13–15 show greater ad literacy but remain highly susceptible to narrative-integrated, passion-driven and emotionally resonant brand messaging. Discernment remains low across the board in a non-stop stream.
ASCI CEO and secretary general Manisha Kapoor said, “ASCI Academy’s study is an investigation into the content life of Generation Alpha not to judge them but to understand them. Their cultural reference points seem disjointed from those of earlier generations. Insights on how they perceive advertising is the first step towards building more responsible engagement frameworks, given that they are the youngest media consumers in our country right now.”
Futurebrands Consulting founder and director Santosh Desai added, “While earlier generations have been exposed to digital media, for this generation it is the world they inhabit. This report explores not only what they watch but how they are being shaped by algorithms, content and advertising.”
The study proposes four adaptive, principles-led pathways:
- Universal signposting of commercial intent using design principles that make advertising recognisable even to young audiences.
- Ecosystem-wide responsibility shared among advertisers, platforms, creators, schools and parents.
- Future-ready safeguards built directly into children’s content experiences rather than as optional background settings.
- Formal media and advertising literacy embedded in school curricula to teach age-appropriate understanding of persuasion and commercial intent.
In a feed that never pauses, Gen Alpha isn’t merely watching content, they’re swimming in an ocean where entertainment, commerce and identity swirl together. The real question isn’t whether they can spot an ad; it’s whether the adults building the ocean can agree on where the lifeguards should stand.
