For international investors, gaining access to U.S. stock markets has long been challenging due to regulatory barriers and infrastructure limitations. Alpaca, a San Mateo-based startup, is changing that by providing an API that enables financial services firms worldwide to offer U.S. trading services to their customers.
Alpaca now supports over 5 million brokerage accounts across more than 200 financial firms in 40 countries. The company has just raised a $52 million Series C funding round to further expand its presence into the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. Investors in the round include both new and returning backers such as Derayah Financial, National Investments Company Kuwait, 850 Management, Unbound, and Portage Ventures.
Alpaca co-founder and CEO Yoshi Yokokawa said the company is targeting international growth by securing regulatory licenses beyond its existing approvals in the U.S., Japan, and the Bahamas. “This fundraising is a catalyst for building truly global infrastructure,” Yokokawa said. The company also opened a New York office to support its expansion plans.
In addition to geographic growth, Alpaca plans to introduce trading of non-U.S. products such as European and Asian equities. It will also roll out 24/5 trading for U.S. stocks and continue expanding its product range, which now includes stocks, ETFs, options, fixed income, and high-yield products. The platform also supports IRA accounts.
Founded in 2018 by Yokokawa, a former investment banker, and Hitoshi Harada (CPO), Alpaca started by offering fintech companies backend tools to power compliant trading platforms. The startup focused on solving the regulatory and compliance hurdles associated with giving international users access to U.S. markets.
Alpaca has since become a fully self-clearing broker-dealer with DTCC membership, giving it control over trade clearing, risk management, and compliance in-house. Its assets under custody and revenue have tripled since its last funding round in late 2023, while trading volume has quadrupled.
The company recently partnered with Kraken to enable some users on the crypto platform to trade U.S. stocks and ETFs. Yokokawa views Interactive Brokers as a primary competitor due to its long-standing global presence, but believes Alpaca’s modern infrastructure gives it a strong advantage. “New banks prefer partners with modern solutions,” he said. “That’s how we’re winning market share.”
Alpaca now employs around 200 people, most of whom work remotely across various global locations. The Series C brings the company’s total funding raised to $170 million.
