Sequoia leads $30 million seed round for AI-driven retail trading platform Catalyst
Catalyst, a startup founded by Justin Zheng and Dylan Iskandar, raised $30 million in a seed round led by Sequoia to develop AI trading agents for everyday investors.
Justin Zheng, 25, and Dylan Iskandar, 21, combined their early experience in Ethereum, biometrics, Worldcoin and defense-grade cybersecurity to create Catalyst, an AI-powered platform that builds and runs trading agents for retail investors. In a seed financing led by Sequoia, the startup secured $30 million, with participation from Jump Trading, PeakXV, Lux Capital, AntiFund, Coinbase and Premji Invest. Catalyst’s agents interpret user-provided goals in plain language, devise end-to-end trading plans and execute them after human confirmation.
A pilot program reportedly produced hundreds of millions of dollars in trade volume over a few weeks, focusing on power traders, and the firm now aims to roll out the service to a wider audience. The founders emphasize safety and education, positioning the product as a tool to protect capital rather than a gambling app. Sequoia’s partner George Robson likened the agents to a “suit of armor” for navigating financial markets.
Why it matters
The funding gives Catalyst resources to bring AI-driven, user-friendly trading tools to mainstream investors, potentially reshaping retail finance.
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