Nithin Kamath ‘would not have started Zerodha in 2025’; the CEO says he would have built a brokerage with … | Stock Market News

Online brokerage platform Zerodha’s Chief Executive Officer Nithin Kamath, in a post on his Trading Q&A platform on Wednesday, said that he would not have started Zerodha if it was to be done in 2025 as markets are crowded with brokerages at present.

Responding to a social media user, Kamath said, “We would not have started Zerodha. The market is so crowded, and being another one doing the same thing wouldn’t work.” 

Kamath also highlighted that his product has evolved over the last 10 years, and it would not make sense to attempt to beat the “best” in today’s market on the first day of business.

“Also our product has evolved over the last 10 years. I don’t think it would make sense to attempt to beat the best today on day 1 of the business,” he said in the post.

What would Nithin Kamath build in 2025?

Responding to a Zerodha community user named Manav Agarwal, Nithin Kamath said that in 2025, he would be more likely to build a brokerage with other competitive advantages and charge more by offering better research to the clients. 

However, Kamath also highlighted that this initiative would draw in fewer customers, but there is a chance that people could earn “significantly” from the business venture.

“Of course the customers would have been much lesser, but you could still earn significantly,” said Kamath in his post.

Rise of low-cost brokers in India

Paying brokerage fees has been a long-term bane for stock market investors. This led to a reduction in portfolio returns, as people needed to pay high fees to their respective trade houses.

During the early 2000s, hefty brokerage fees often reduced investors’ motivation to invest in the stock markets, similar to how high taxes on gains can lead to lesser investment in the public markets.

However, in the modern era, technological advances have helped evolve the brokerage landscape, and discount brokers and zero-cost brokerage platforms have emerged to serve clients looking to invest in capital markets. 

The introduction of popular online brokerages like Zerodha, Groww, Upstox, and Angle One, among others, has disrupted the traditional brokerage industry as these companies offer their digital investor services in a cost-effective way.

These digital platforms not only allow investors to access real-time stock market data but also allow them to manage their portfolios and execute their own trades.

According to AMFI data for March 2025, the total net asset under management (AUM) in mutual funds was ₹65.74 lakh crore. The data also showed that there are 1,760 schemes active in the Indian stock market.

NSDL data shows that more than 3.94 crore demat accounts were active in India as of March 2025.

In a post on March 21, 2025, 45-year-old Kamath said that Zerodha clients have saved anywhere between ₹2,000 and ₹20,000 crore as equity delivery brokerage over the last 10 years. 

Future of India’s brokerage industry

According to Mordor Intelligence data, India’s security brokerage market is expected to become a $6.21 billion industry by 2030, with a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.89 per cent between 2025 and 2030.

An ICRA report from June 2024 showed that discount brokers need to revise their brokerage charges by 10 per cent to 20 per cent to offset the loss of discounts from the exchanges.

“They will need to balance the need for higher fees with the competitive pressure, potentially leading to changes in their business models in terms of reassessing brokerage-free offerings,” said ICRA in its report addressing the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) hike in the July Budget of 2024.

Chittorgarh data shows that Groww has the highest number of active clients, with more than 1.30 crore users in 2025, with Zerodha following suit with over 79.57 lakh users.

Other top brokers in the Indian market are Angel One, Upstox, ICICI Direct, and Kotak Securities which have more than 14 lakh users as of 2025, according to data. 

Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only. The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.