According to reports from The Economic Times and CNBC TV18, NSE's free NSE NOW trading platform played a crucial role in Zerodha's early journey. The platform, which brokers could offer to their clients, was instrumental in helping the brokerage start operations when it lacked the financial resources to build its own platform. Zerodha founder Nithin Kamath specifically highlighted this support as a key factor in their decision to become a brokerage firm in 2010. As reported by CNBC TV18, Kamath said the NSE was one of the reasons Zerodha decided to become a brokerage, noting that the brokerage did not have enough money in its early days to build a trading platform of its own. The availability of NSE NOW reduced one of the biggest barriers for the startup because building a trading platform independently would have required significant capital and resources.
According to CNBC TV18, Kamath recalled that NSE officials were 'incredibly welcoming' when he approached the exchange to enquire about membership. He described the exchange's approach as incredibly welcoming during their membership inquiry process, contrasting this positive experience with what he had heard about exchanges. When they realised we didn't have a lot of money, they even waived our membership fee of ~₹5 lakh, Kamath said, adding that this was 'just one of many instances' in which the NSE had supported Zerodha throughout its journey. This support became an important part of Zerodha's early journey, with Kamath describing the exchange as an institution to which he personally feels a sense of obligation. In many ways, Zerodha is around only because of the NSE, he said, making it the only company towards which he felt 'a sense of obligation'.
As reported by The Economic Times and CNBC TV18, Kamath described NSE's approach as incredibly welcoming during their membership inquiry process. He contrasted this positive experience with what he had heard about exchanges, stating he had heard 'scary stories' about exchanges before their encounter. According to CNBC TV18, when the Zerodha team travelled to Chennai to enquire about becoming an NSE member, officials were welcoming, with Kamath's initial perception of exchanges shaped by stories he had heard about them. The founder's comments offer a glimpse into the relationship between India's market infrastructure institutions and the newer generation of technology-driven brokerages that have transformed retail investing.
According to CNBC TV18, Kamath expressed confidence that NSE's much-awaited IPO will succeed, though he specifically clarified that his view was not an investment recommendation. His comments come as the exchange prepares for its public offering, with the founder's positive experience with NSE helping shape his view of the institution's prospects in the capital markets. The NSE IPO will open for subscription on September 17 and close on September 21, with the exchange setting a price band of ₹1,700-₹1,785 per share and a face value of ₹1. At the upper end of the price band, the IPO could be valued at ₹22,561.57 crore, making it the second-largest IPO in India's history. Retail investors have been allocated 35% of the issue, with 50% reserved for qualified institutional buyers and the rest for non-institutional investors.
According to CNBC TV18, Kamath also praised India's market infrastructure and regulatory framework, saying they were probably ahead of those in most Western markets. He highlighted that Indian stock exchanges also act as 'first-level regulators', taking on some functions that brokers traditionally perform in other markets. This structure, he suggested, has helped shape the role and business model of Indian brokerage firms, with Zerodha having grown into one of India's best-known brokerage platforms from its humble beginnings in 2010. 'If it weren't for that, I sometimes wonder what the point of brokers like us would even be,' Kamath said, emphasizing the critical role of India's market infrastructure in supporting technology-driven brokerages.
