Justin Ma, Rikuya Takatsu, and Maximilian Tsiang dropped out of the University of Pennsylvania to build a different kind of proprietary trading firm. Their startup, Vest Labs, just closed a $13 million seed round to prove the model works [Fortune, October 2026].
The bet is simple, if unconventional. Traditional prop firms often profit from trader losses through fees and spreads. Vest Markets, the platform they are building, is designed to make money only when its traders do, letting them keep up to 80% of their profits [Fortune, October 2026]. It is a stark realignment of incentives in a corner of finance not known for them.
The Trader-Aligned Wedge
Vest's core proposition is a cross-asset trading platform and proprietary-trading business that provides qualifying traders with company capital. They can use it to trade perpetual futures contracts in live markets around the clock [Fortune, October 2026] [KuCoin, October 2026]. The company's cut comes from the remaining 20% of those profits.
This flips the typical economics. The founders argue that conventional prop firms have rules and fee structures that can encourage trader failure. By directly tying its revenue to trader success, Vest aims to attract higher-caliber talent and foster a more collaborative, less adversarial relationship [Fortune, October 2026]. The model's stability, the company suggests, should in turn attract more liquidity providers [Dealroom.co].
The Capital Behind the Check
The $13 million seed round, closed in July 2026, is notable for its lead investor and the names attached. Portal Ventures led the financing [Fortune, October 2026]. The participation list reads like a who's who of institutional and crypto-native capital, signaling broad, cross-asset interest in the thesis.
| Investor | Type |
|---|---|
| Portal Ventures | Venture Capital (Lead) |
| Citadel Securities | Market Maker / Investor |
| BlackRock | Asset Manager / Investor |
| KKR | Private Equity / Investor |
| Coinbase Ventures | Crypto Exchange VC Arm |
| Amber Group | Crypto Financial Services |
| Selini Capital | Crypto Investment Firm |
| Auros | Crypto Trading Firm |
| Flowdesk | Crypto Market Maker |
| QCP Capital | Crypto Trading Firm |
The inclusion of senior executives from Citadel Securities, BlackRock, and KKR as individual investors is a pointed endorsement from veterans of traditional finance [Fortune, October 2026]. Their checks suggest belief that Vest's aligned model could carve out a sustainable niche, even within the fiercely competitive world of high-frequency and proprietary trading.
The Founders and the Build
The three co-founders are friends who left Penn to pursue the venture [Fortune, October 2026]. Public records show Justin Ma as CEO, with a start date at Vest Labs listed as 2021 [SignalHire]. Maximilian Tsiang is noted as a co-founder since January 2022 [ContactOut]. The team's youth and direct path from university to founding is a common startup narrative, but one now backed by experienced capital.
Their ambition extends beyond just a new fee structure. Earlier descriptions of the company's technology point to a vertically integrated platform aiming to rebuild financial systems, combining matching, clearing, settlement, and risk management [Signalbase]. Another cited goal is to rework risk pricing in decentralized finance with a so-called Universal Risk Engine [CMOintern.com, March 2025]. The current focus, however, appears squarely on launching and scaling the core Vest Markets proposition.
Where the Model Gets Tested
The vision is clear, but the path is paved with operational and market risks inherent to any new trading venture. Vest must execute on several complex fronts simultaneously.
- Risk Management. Providing use with company capital is inherently risky. The firm's success depends on its ability to accurately select and monitor traders, and to manage portfolio-level risk in volatile perpetual futures markets. A few bad actors or a market black swan could quickly erode the capital pool.
- Talent Acquisition. Attracting and retaining consistently profitable traders is the lifeblood of the model. Vest must compete with established prop shops and hedge funds that offer significant resources and track records. The 80% profit share is a powerful lure, but it must be paired with robust technology and support.
- Scalability and Liquidity. The business model requires scale. To become a meaningful platform, Vest needs a critical mass of both traders and liquidity. Building this two-sided network from scratch is a classic chicken-and-egg problem in fintech.
The company's answer, implied by the funding, is to use the capital to make trading resources available for 24/7 trading and to build the underlying technology platform [CryptoRank.io]. The credibility of its backers may also help in recruiting initial traders and partners.
The Next Twelve Months
With $13 million in fresh capital, the immediate mandate is to launch Vest Markets and demonstrate traction. The market will be watching for concrete signals: the number of qualified traders on the platform, aggregate trading volume, and, crucially, the net profitability of the trader pool. A successful early cohort proving the profit-sharing model could trigger a powerful network effect.
The round, led by Portal Ventures and backed by a syndicate that includes Citadel Securities, BlackRock, and KKR executives, sets a high bar [Fortune, October 2026]. It is a bet that aligning incentives can build a better, more resilient trading business. The question for Ma, Takatsu, and Tsiang is whether their trader-first philosophy can out-execute the entrenched economics of an entire industry.
Sources
- [Fortune, October 2026] Exclusive: Portal Ventures-backed Vest raises $13 million to build a proprietary trading firm that shares traders’ profits | https://fortune.com/2026/10/07/exclusive-portal-ventures-vest-13-million-proprietary-trading-firm-traders-profits/
- [KuCoin, October 2026] Vest Completes $13M Seed Round Led by Portal Ventures | https://www.kucoin.com/news/flash/vest-completes-13m-seed-round-led-by-portal-ventures
- [Dealroom.co] Vest Labs company profile | https://www.dealroom.co
- [Signalbase] Vest Labs company profile | https://www.signalbase.com
- [CMOintern.com, March 2025] Vest Labs profile | https://www.cmointern.com
- [SignalHire] Justin Ma profile | https://www.signalhire.com
- [ContactOut] Maximilian Tsiang profile | https://www.contactout.com
- [CryptoRank.io] Vest Labs funding news | https://cryptorank.io