The archive · Money & Fintech · Product decision · 2019–2026
Pluang bets Indonesia's savers become multi-asset investors; 13M users, $10M Series C
Founded in 2019 by Claudia Kolonas and Richard Chua, Jakarta's Pluang moved retail investors from gold to local equities, reaching 13M users and profitability.
Pluang
What the business is
Pluang is a Jakarta multi-asset investment and trading app offering digital gold, mutual funds, US stocks, ETFs, crypto, futures, options and Indonesian equities through licensed partners.
Starting capital：US$10M Series C announced May 2026, led by MUFG Innovation Partners with existing investors Accel and Square Peg participating.
How it started
Claudia Kolonas and Richard Chua founded Pluang in 2019, betting that Indonesia's young, mobile-first population would invest if products were small, familiar and regulated. The founders saw retail equity investors at roughly 3.8 million against a country of over 270 million, with most savings parked in deposits, and built an app that made US stocks, gold and other assets purchasable in small amounts.
What happened
Accel led an investment in 2022, after which Pluang says revenue, gross profit and gross transaction value grew more than six-fold; assets under custody rose nearly five-fold between 2023 and the end of 2025, and it became profitable in 2025 with about US$30M in revenue. In May 2026 it raised a US$10M Series C led by MUFG Innovation Partners and launched Indonesian equities, drawing over 50,000 trading-account applications within roughly a week.
How it ended up
Pluang is live and profitable, holding the Series C mostly in reserve for acquisitions or overseas expansion. It entered the Philippines through an SEC sandbox in mid-2025 and targets an official launch there in 2026, competing with Ajaib and Stockbit in local equities.
Background
Pluang is a Jakarta-based multi-asset investment platform founded in 2019 by Claudia Kolonas and Richard Chua. It lets retail users buy and trade digital gold, mutual funds, US stocks, ETFs, crypto, crypto futures, stock options and, since May 2026, Indonesian equities, through licensed partners.
The founding bet was that Indonesians would invest if products were small, familiar and easy: the founders saw most household money sitting in deposits while retail equity investors numbered only about 3.8 million, and made US stocks and gold purchasable in rupiah-sized fractions.
Growth followed. After Accel's 2022 investment Pluang says revenue, gross profit and gross transaction value rose more than six-fold, assets under custody grew nearly five-fold between 2023 and the end of 2025, and the company reached profitability in 2025 with roughly US$30 million in revenue. It claims to be Indonesia's most-downloaded trading app and to serve over 13 million registered users.
In May 2026 Pluang raised about US$10 million in a Series C led by MUFG Innovation Partners, with Accel and Square Peg participating, and launched Indonesian stock trading, drawing more than 50,000 account applications within a week. The company says it holds the capital as dry powder for acquisitions and Southeast Asian expansion, after entering the Philippines through a regulatory sandbox in 2025.
What has to be true
- Indonesia's retail investor base grew from 3.8 million to 18 million in five years, giving Pluang a swelling market of first-time buyers.
- Fractional rupiah tickets let savers try investing without the minimums and paperwork of traditional brokers.
- A regulated multi-asset menu kept users inside one app as they moved from gold to stocks to crypto.
- Organic acquisition (75% of users) and a sub-six-month payback kept unit economics healthy enough to fund expansion.
What can be applied
Meet savers before you meet traders: Pluang grew by making first investments fractional and familiar, then expanded the menu and geography as its users outgrew each step.
Aftermath
As of September 2026 Pluang claims over 13 million registered users, multi-asset offerings from gold and mutual funds to US and Indonesian stocks, crypto and options, and profitability since 2025. The May 2026 Series C from MUFG Innovation Partners is held as dry powder for acquisitions and Southeast Asian expansion, with a Philippines official launch targeted for 2026 after a mid-2025 sandbox entry. Open questions: competition from Ajaib and Stockbit in local equities, regulation under OJK and Bappebti, and whether growth stays organic in new markets.
Sources
- Pluang raises US$10M Series C led by MUFG Innovation Partners, launches Indonesian equities
- Indonesia's investment app Pluang raises $10M
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