Zerodha founder Nithin Kamath has called on fintech founders to rethink how people may trade and invest in the future, saying the industry could look “radically different” as AI, evolving market structures and new technologies reshape financial markets.
In a post on X on Thursday, August 20, Kamath said that while trading and investing platforms have changed considerably in terms of their appearance, ease of use, information, data and tools, the underlying process has remained largely unchanged.
“If you think about it, trading and investing have changed a lot on the surface, but the fundamental act has remained more or less the same,” Kamath said.
He noted that investors still place an order through a broker, which then goes to an exchange.
“The question we keep asking ourselves at Zerodha, and Rainmatter by Zerodha, is: will this remain true in the future?” he said.
According to Kamath, AI is changing how software is built and used, while market structure and regulations are evolving. At the same time, new asset classes and technologies are emerging, including tokenisation, prediction markets and other experiments.
“90% of it may be pure degeneracy, but you never know what might become mainstream,” he said.
Kamath said the role of brokers could also change significantly.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if, in the future, a broker becomes little more than a pipe between the customer and the exchange,” he said.
He added that customers could eventually interact with markets through a completely personal, AI-built interface rather than a broker’s app.
“We don’t know what the future of trading and investing will look like. But we think it may look radically different,” Kamath said.
