Singapore Diamond Investment Exchange (SDiX), the world’s first commodity exchange for physically settled diamonds, has raised USD10 million in Series B+ financing.
The round, which closed on June, was led by existing investors Vertex Ventures and SDiX Chairman Alain Vandenborre (pictured). New investors in this round include Simon Murray, Chairman and founder of SMC and GEMS and former Group Managing Director of Hutchison Whampoa; and Richard Ji, co-founder and Chief Investment Officer of All-Stars Investment and former Asia-Pacific Head of Internet/media investment research at Morgan Stanley.
The new investment will support the continued execution of SDiX’s strategy to create a central global marketplace for electronic trading of physically settled diamonds. A key pillar of this strategy is the research and development of new products and services based on cutting-edge technologies to further enhance the attractiveness of diamonds as a viable asset class for global investors. A number of initiatives focused on trading efficiency, diamond financing solutions and mobile technology are currently under development.
Alain Vandenborre, Executive Chairman and Founder of Singapore Diamond Investment Exchange, says: “Since launching the SDiX platform just a year ago, we have seen significant appetite from investors around the globe who recognise the unique opportunity our platform presents to invest in diamonds as an asset class. This new funding round will enable us to continue scaling up to meet that demand, while rolling out more innovative products and services. We are pleased that our existing strategic investors have endorsed our growth strategy by joining this round, and we are delighted to welcome important new partners to our team.”
Ji says: “SDiX represents an exciting prospect for the future of global diamond trading, positioning diamonds as an investable asset class and developing new products and services enabled by innovative Fintech solutions.”
The SDiX trading platform launched in May 2016. In the 12 months since, the exchange has exceeded USD110 million in trading volumes representing more than 50,000 investment-grade diamonds traded, delivering on its goal to create the world’s central exchange for secure and efficient trading in physically settled diamonds.
In addition, the exchange has recorded average number of more than 500 baskets and 4,000 investment grade diamonds being traded monthly.
