The gap is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. As more Indians look beyond domestic markets for global stocks, ETFs, and dollar-denominated assets, they are running into an ecosystem that hasn't evolved with investor intent.

Many high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) have dollar liabilities but continue to save in rupees, a currency that has historically depreciated against the dollar. Add to this the complexity of remittances, tax reporting, and a lack of clear guidance, and overseas investing has become intimidating.

This friction was personal for Nitish Sahni and Sparsh Sharma. While studying at UC Berkeley, Sahni watched his tuition costs rise about 5% annually as the rupee weakened. Back home, his father struggled to manage overseas investments, relying on intermediaries and navigating compliance hurdles for basic transactions.

The conclusion was obvious: despite rising demand, the tools to make overseas investing truly accessible for Indians simply didn't exist.

In 2024, the duo launched Paasa to change that. Drawing on Sahni's fintech experience at SoFi and Sharma's engineering background at UiPath and SoFi, along with his training in interaction design at California College of the Arts, they built a digital wealth management platform to remove paperwork, simplify compliance, and offer Indians a single window to invest in global markets.

How it works

Gurugram-based Paasa positions itself as a global equities platform built specifically for Indian investors.

Users can download the app, complete the KYC, and open an account. They can remit funds (in dollars) via their Indian banks and transfer funds to their Interactive Brokers account, Paasa's brokerage partner. This setup gives them access to major global exchanges such as NASDAQ and NYSE in the US, along with markets in London, Switzerland, and beyond.

"The experience is essentially like Zerodha, but for global markets," Sharma says.

Users can invest in individual stocks and ETFs across multiple exchanges, while Paasa automates cross-border tax filing and compliance, two of the biggest friction points that discourage Indian investors from investing overseas.

The platform is designed to be accessible across demographics. Paasa follows a multi-channel approach that works across its app, WhatsApp, and email, covering onboarding, reporting, analytics, and portfolio tracking.

"The experience is suitable even for HNIs who are 50-plus and not digitally native," says Sahni, with onboarding and support handled through email and WhatsApp.

Beyond execution, the startup also offers advisory services to its users. The platform curates collections of indices, benchmarks, and asset classes, and builds portfolios tailored to individual risk profiles (high, medium, low). Using a model portfolio framework with strategic asset allocation and periodic rebalancing, it supports investors with updates, portfolio reviews, and restructuring as goals or market conditions change.

AI-driven insights sit at the core of this advisory layer. Paasa generates personalised reports for each user and shares actionable insights on portfolio holdings. "Our AI scripts analyse customer stocks by tracking news from the past week and explain why prices moved up or down," Sahni says.

According to the company, investors can choose from three primary strategies: Global Index Tracking for broad diversification, High Growth Equity for return-focused exposure, and Quality Dividend for steady income. Each strategy comes with ready-made portfolios, along with guidance on tax-efficient structuring, LRS compliance, and RBI reporting.

The founders emphasise that proper diversification is built into the platform's DNA. "The idea is to ensure assets don't move in the same direction at the same time. This is the fundamental principle of true global diversification," Sharma says.

Under the hood, Paasa operates as an infrastructure-led platform. It has partnered with Interactive Brokers, an electronic trading platform in the US, using its APIs to build a localised experience for Indian investors.

Execution, custody, reporting, and compliance run on Interactive Brokers' global infrastructure, much like Indian mutual fund apps rely on BSE and NSE rails, allowing Paasa to focus on product design, advisory, and user experience.

As a SEBI-registered Investment Advisor, Paasa says all its customer investments comply with the RBI's Liberalised Remittance Scheme for global equities. The Interactive Brokers partnership provides the regulatory framework for cross-border transactions, while Paasa handles automated LRS reporting and compliance documentation for users.

Business model and users

Paasa generates revenue through a 1% annual fee on assets under management for advisory services, and transaction-based brokerage fees that vary by exchange.

"Fees are lower for US exchanges and slightly higher for the London Stock Exchange," Sahni says.

Currency conversion also matters when transferring money abroad. Banks typically mark up exchange rates significantly, but Paasa has negotiated rates around Rs 91.4 per dollar with partner banks.

"We don't make money on forex conversion. By negotiating better rates, we help customers save, which adds up on larger transfers," Sahni explains.

The startup found strong product-market fit with employees at US tech companies like Google, Microsoft, Qualcomm, and Nvidia, who face two specific challenges. First, concentration risk: they receive US stocks through RSUs (Restricted Stock Units, company shares given as part of compensation), concentrating their wealth in a single company.

"They need diversification but want to stay in dollar-denominated assets rather than converting funds back to India," the founders explain.

Second, the US estate tax problem: US-based securities face up to 40% estate tax when the holder dies. "$1 million in US stocks could mean $400,000 in taxes. Older employees and executives don't want their stock sitting in US accounts," Sharma says.

Paasa's solution lets investors buy dollar assets on the London Stock Exchange, like S&P 500 ETFs. Since these aren't US-based, they avoid the estate tax entirely while offering the same market exposure.

Growth and expansion

Paasa is backed by Y Combinator and raised $750,000 in its initial funding round. The startup currently serves approximately 1,700 users and has grown to manage $19 million in total assets, with $6 million in advisory AUM and $13 million in trading and brokerage assets.

The company competes with platforms like Vested Finance and INDmoney in India's global investment space. It has worked with executives and families from IBM, EY, Google, Microsoft, and more.

The startup is doubling down on tech company employees with RSUs in India. The US estate tax creates real urgency: a potential 40% tax liability pushes customers to act now. Paasa already has customers in Dubai, Oman, and Thailand, and plans to expand its product suite with multi-currency bank accounts, a bonds platform, and cash management solutions.

"The current focus is brokerage and advisory, but the roadmap includes comprehensive wealth management solutions," Sharma says.

The founders urge investors to be wary of social media stock tips as well. "That advice isn't personalised; influencers don't know your goals, risk profile, or timeline," Sahni says.

They also caution against geographical concentration. Investing only in India or only in the US exposes portfolios to unnecessary risk.

"The core idea behind platforms like Paasa is global diversification, across equities, bonds, gold, and commodities, and across regions like India, the US, Europe, and Asia," Sharma says.

With rising geopolitical uncertainty, wars, and shifting global alliances, spreading investments across multiple markets is no longer optional but essential for long-term stability.

"Our vision is global; everyone in the world should invest globally, not just Indians or NRIs," Sahni says.

Edited by Megha Reddy