Vinyl Equity Secures $11.5M Seed Round to Bolster Modern Transfer Agent Platform
QUICK TAKE
- Transfer agent services – how share ownership and transfers are recorded – are required for the running of every public company in the US, yet the infrastructure used by incumbents is slow, dated and cumbersome.
- Vinyl Equity is transforming the experience for issuers and shareholders through a vertical, cloud-native solution that automates administrative workflows and seamlessly integrates with financial services tech, AI and machine learning solutions.
- 50,000 shareholders already utilize the solution, which eliminates errors, streamlines communication, and saves time and money.
- The company was co-founded by Rob Schoder, who was involved in over 230 IPOs at AngelList.
- Vinyl Equity has raised $11.5m in seed funding co-led by Index Ventures and Spark Capital to continue its growth and development.
INDEX PERSPECTIVE
By Sofia Dolfe
Most people have never heard of transfer agents, let alone know what they do. Yet their services are a legal requirement for every publicly traded company in the US – as well as in most international markets. Consequently, the industry is valued at over $15bn and dominated by legacy players, with the largest incumbent founded in 1978.
One reason the sector has remained unchanged is that its complexity requires a founder with a deep understanding of the space. At Index, we’ve been investing in fintech for years, seeking out opportunities that fit within a broader thesis of backing the next generation of capital markets infrastructure providers. We’ve yet to find the best person to operate in the transfer agency space – until now.
Rob, Vinyl Equity’s co-founder, has a unique understanding of transfer agents. While managing portfolio operations for AngelList, he was involved in over 230 IPOs, working with numerous different transfer agents. Rob also previously helped scale Flexport, a leading logistics tech company. In preparation for launching Vinyl, he interviewed hundreds of public company execs, equity administrators, and their service providers to gain a complete understanding of the ecosystem.
This is a rare convergence of a giant, ripe-for-change market dominated by legacy players and a founder with deep domain expertise and operational experience. At a time when most transfer agents continue to rely on outdated manual entry processes and disconnected operations, Vinyl is showing there’s a new way of working through its cloud-native, API-first platform complete with AI-powered workflows that seamlessly plug into existing systems.
THE DETAILS
Tasked with tracking the ownership records of all shares, transfer agents are not only integral to the running of a public company, but a legal requirement in the US. Despite this, the infrastructure used by traditional transfer agents remains slow, dated and dominated by error-prone manual data entry processes.
Vinyl Equity is transforming the transfer agent experience for issuers, shareholders, and stakeholders, bringing services into the modern age. The service delivers real-time data visibility, comprehensive compliance solutions, and automated workflows that reconcile instantly to enhance performance and transparency.
With 50,000 shareholders already using the solution, the company has raised an $11.5 million seed round co-led by Index Ventures and Spark Capital.
“Equity management has been marred by inefficiencies for far too long, disproportionately impacting the people largely responsible for the company’s success,” explains Rob Schoder, Vinyl Equity’s co-founder and CEO. “Vinyl Equity streamlines these processes with real-time visibility and automation, empowering businesses to focus on growth and offering a seamless experience for all stakeholders.”
A vertical, cloud-native solution, Vinyl seamlessly integrates with financial services tech and AI and machine learning solutions. It automates administrative workflows, including document processing, data validation, and the reconciliation of shareholder records. The platform also connects stakeholders that previously operated in siloes and integrates with share plan administrators to remove cumbersome practices like the Medallion Signature Guarantee certification stamp, faxes, PDF forms, and multi-week email threads.
“By integrating cloud-native fintech and AI, we’ve built a vertical platform that proactively ensures compliance, automates tasks across the partner ecosystem to replace outdated, manual processes,” adds Poornaprajna Udupi, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Vinyl Equity. “The Vinyl copilot presents timely actions, processes data in real-time, and performs reconciliations automatically, saving issuers time and money, eliminating compliance risks, and delivering a seamless, modern experience.”
Published — April 14, 2025
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