Key Takeaways
- • Aqua closed $18.8 million in total funding ($3.8 million seed + $15 million Series A) to launch the industry's first turnkey alternative investment platform (TAIP), with backing from Google's AI Fund, Y Combinator, and Arthur Ventures.
- • The platform consolidates fund creation, operational workflows, investment lifecycle management, marketplace access, document intelligence, and investor servicing into a unified environment—replacing fragmented spreadsheets and manual processes currently used by wealth managers, RIAs, banks, and fund sponsors.
- • Aqua, founded in 2021 by Rohan Marwaha and Dev Patel, operates as a TAMP (Turnkey Asset Management Platform) for alternatives, enabling firms to build, manage, and scale institutional-quality alternatives programs on their own terms.
- • The company plans to deploy capital toward accelerating platform development, expanding engineering and partnership teams, and deepening integrations across custodians and fund sponsors to address growing demand for democratized access to alternatives.
- • Aqua targets the infrastructure gap in alternatives investment, where institutional demand has grown rapidly but most firms still rely on disconnected marketplaces and manual workflows, creating an opportunity to replicate the technology-driven transformation already achieved in traditional asset management.
Summary
Aqua, an alternatives infrastructure platform founded in 2021 by Rohan Marwaha and Dev Patel, launched what it describes as the industry's first turnkey alternative investment platform (TAIP) on September 9, 2026. The New York-based company announced $18.8 million in total funding comprised of a $3.8 million seed round backed by Google's AI Fund and Y Combinator, followed by a $15 million Series A led by Arthur Ventures with participation from Alumni Ventures.
The platform addresses a fundamental infrastructure problem in alternatives investment. According to CEO Rohan Marwaha, while demand for alternatives has accelerated, most wealth managers, RIAs, banks, trust companies, and fund sponsors still rely on disconnected marketplaces, manual workflows, and spreadsheets to manage alternative investment programs. Aqua consolidates these fragmented processes by integrating fund creation, operational workflows, investment lifecycle management, marketplace access, document intelligence, and investor servicing into a single unified environment. This integration enables firms to build repeatable, scalable alternatives strategies without the operational overhead that currently constrains adoption among mid-sized and smaller institutions.
The company operates as a TAMP (Turnkey Asset Management Platform) specifically designed for the alternatives space, handling subscriptions, reporting, documentation, and access to alternative vehicles. The funding will support acceleration of platform development, expansion of engineering and partnership teams, and deeper integrations with custodians and fund sponsors—critical infrastructure layers necessary for institutional adoption. Aqua's positioning reflects a broader trend of democratization in alternatives, where technology infrastructure is enabling firms to offer institutional-quality alternatives programs at scale, mirroring the digital transformation previously achieved in traditional asset management.
The platform addresses a fundamental infrastructure problem in alternatives investment. According to CEO Rohan Marwaha, while demand for alternatives has accelerated, most wealth managers, RIAs, banks, trust companies, and fund sponsors still rely on disconnected marketplaces, manual workflows, and spreadsheets to manage alternative investment programs. Aqua consolidates these fragmented processes by integrating fund creation, operational workflows, investment lifecycle management, marketplace access, document intelligence, and investor servicing into a single unified environment. This integration enables firms to build repeatable, scalable alternatives strategies without the operational overhead that currently constrains adoption among mid-sized and smaller institutions.
The company operates as a TAMP (Turnkey Asset Management Platform) specifically designed for the alternatives space, handling subscriptions, reporting, documentation, and access to alternative vehicles. The funding will support acceleration of platform development, expansion of engineering and partnership teams, and deeper integrations with custodians and fund sponsors—critical infrastructure layers necessary for institutional adoption. Aqua's positioning reflects a broader trend of democratization in alternatives, where technology infrastructure is enabling firms to offer institutional-quality alternatives programs at scale, mirroring the digital transformation previously achieved in traditional asset management.
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