What Otis does

Otis is a New York-based marketplace founded in 2018 that enables individual investors to access exclusive alternative assets that have historically been limited to accredited or institutional buyers. The company serves retail investors seeking democratized exposure to alternative investment categories, operating with a small team of 11-50 employees from its New York headquarters. Otis has raised approximately $16.5 million in cumulative outside capital across multiple rounds between 2019 and 2021, with backing from notable venture firms including Maveron (lead investor on the Series A), Union Square Ventures, Kindred Ventures, NextView Ventures, Sleeping Bear Capital, Spacecadet Ventures, and Dreamers VC. The company was incubated at Grand Central Tech in early 2019 before completing its seed and Series A rounds later that year.

The platform functions as a two-sided marketplace intermediary connecting buyers and sellers of alternative investments. Its revenue model appears consistent with transaction-based marketplace economics typical of investment platforms, though specific pricing mechanics, fee structures, and take rates are not disclosed in the available data. The leadership team is led by founder and CEO Michael Karnjanaprakorn, who brings prior operating credibility from founding Skillshare, and includes functional heads across engineering (Tye Wang), operations (James Gilligan), marketing (Cam Lay, VP; Jason Martin, Director of Growth), and people (Freyan Billimoria, VP).

Otis's competitive position in the alternative assets space is characterized by early traction and a recognized investor syndicate, but limited public data on user counts, GMV, transaction volume, or revenue makes it difficult to benchmark against competitors. The company's funding history shows peak activity in 2019-2021 with no disclosed capital raises since February 2021, which raises material questions about current operating momentum, runway status, and trajectory.

Name

Otis

Website

https://withotis.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Otis is a New York-based marketplace founded in 2018 that enables individual investors to access exclusive alternative assets. The platform serves retail investors seeking democratized exposure to alternative investments historically limited to accredited or institutional buyers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Alternative Investment Marketplace

NAICS

Miscellaneous Intermediation (52391)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Vertical/Specialty Marketplaces (BPAMAGAB)

Keywords

• Alternative asset marketplace
• Fractional asset investing
• Private market access
• Alternative investment platform
• Exclusive asset trading

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Core offering

Otis is a marketplace platform that allows individuals to invest in exclusive alternative assets. The platform aggregates investment opportunities that are typically reserved for institutional or high-net-worth investors and makes them accessible to a broader retail investor base.

Product overview

Public.com is a multi-asset investing platform and registered broker-dealer (Open to the Public Investing, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC) offering a comprehensive suite of investment products centered on a core brokerage platform for stocks, ETFs, crypto, options, bonds, treasuries, and high-yield cash accounts. The platform differentiates through AI-powered modules including Agents (an agentic brokerage for automated portfolio management), Generated Assets (AI-powered investable index creation via natural language prompt), Direct Indexing (tax-optimized portfolio with tax-loss harvesting), and a Trading API for programmatic access. Supplementary tools include the Income Hub, Earnings Hub, and Queue for trade management. The platform also offers specialized account types (Traditional & Roth IRAs, Crypto IRA, Margin, Bond Account, Treasury Account) and an exclusive Concierge service for accounts over $500,000. Crypto services are provided by Zero Hash LLC; investment advisory services by Public Advisors LLC (SEC-registered).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Republic: Multi-asset platform offering private equity, startups, crypto, and alternative investments to retail investors. Broader incumbent that overlaps with Otis on the alternative-investing side while also offering private market deals.
• Public.com: Multi-asset retail investing platform (stocks, ETFs, crypto, bonds, alternatives). Adjacent fintech incumbent whose social/AI-driven investing community shares a retail-investor DNA with Otis.

Emerging players

• Arrived Homes: Fractional single-family rental investing platform. Adjacent alternative-asset marketplace serving retail investors with similar primary-issuance and secondary mechanics.
• Maecenas: Blockchain-based fine-art fractional ownership and trading platform. Comparable to Otis's art-investing angle but with an earlier-stage technology stack.

Direct peers

• Rally: Marketplace for fractional ownership of collectible assets including classic cars, watches, and sports memorabilia. Mirrors Otis's alternative-asset marketplace model with a similar retail-investor focus.
• Masterworks: Leading fractional art-investing platform offering shares in blue-chip artworks. Directly comparable to Otis as a marketplace that lets retail investors buy fractional interests in exclusive alternative assets.
• YieldStreet: Platform providing access to alternative income-generating assets such as private credit, real estate, and structured products. Comparable to Otis in retail-facing alternative-asset investing, with a slightly more income/credit orientation.
• Alt: Marketplace for trading fractional shares of alternative assets including sneakers, trading cards, and luxury collectibles. Direct competitor to Otis with overlapping category focus on collectibles.
• Vinovest: Fine-wine investing platform offering fractionalized ownership and storage of investment-grade wine. Closely comparable to Otis as a category-specific alternative-asset marketplace for retail investors.

Others

• Passbase: Identity verification and KYC/AML infrastructure provider serving fintech platforms. Enabler rather than competitor, but highly relevant to Otis's compliance stack for onboarding investors into alternative-asset offerings.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/withotis
• Facebookfacebook.com/withotis
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/otiswealth

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors11 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Otis