# Fintech Startup Unlocks $150M in Hidden Jewelry Wealth Unvault's AI platform transforms gold jewelry into a liquid financial asset class. - **Source:** [Entrepreneur – Latest](https://brifing.si/source/1bee40f8-abda-4cd6-b055-05148ce79f53) - **Published:** 2026-09-29 - **Topic:** [Finance](https://brifing.si/c/finance) - **Original article:** - **On Brifing:** https://brifing.si/s/9e0fa3ec-a1d7-4b1f-9774-e98a3e8ca42c ## The untapped $750B asset class Unvault addresses a massive market opportunity by treating personal gold jewelry as a financial asset. Founder Nidhi Singhvi recognized this after observing cultural differences in jewelry valuation between India and the US. Traditional methods relied on pawn shops with significant markdowns, leaving owners unaware of their assets' true worth. The platform emerged when customers of Singhvi's jewelry company Sonalore repeatedly asked for valuation help. ## From jewelry to fintech pivot What began as an 18-karat gold jewelry business with buyback guarantees (Sonalore) evolved into a fintech platform when customers demanded valuation services. Singhvi and co-founder Navya Reddy quickly adapted, launching Unvault in June 2025. The AI-native approach allowed rapid development of their valuation app by October 2025, leveraging their jewelry industry expertise to enhance algorithmic assessments despite using frontier AI models. ## How the valuation works Unvault's app combines photographic analysis with volumetric data to estimate jewelry value. The founders' year in jewelry retail provided crucial domain knowledge to improve AI accuracy. The system provides itemized valuations down to precise karat measurements (e.g., 17.34-karat) with transparent fee breakdowns. This contrasts sharply with traditional opaque pawn shop evaluations, creating trust through full process documentation including X-ray testing videos. ## Unexpected secondary use case While designed for valuation tracking, customers immediately began using Unvault to sell jewelry. The team added this functionality within a month of launch, receiving thousands of dollars worth of items shipped to their Palo Alto PO box. Singhvi personally handled initial logistics, demonstrating the founders' hands-on approach to validating market demand before scaling operations. ## VC skepticism and traction Silicon Valley investors initially doubted the market size potential, with some questioning whether jewelry could support a trillion-dollar company. However, Unvault's metrics spoke for themselves: $1M in assets tracked within 27 days, $2M in five days, and $5M by fundraising time. The platform reached $150M in unlocked assets by 2026, proving demand for liquidating traditionally illiquid assets. ## Customer-driven development Unvault maintains continuous feedback loops, even using creative methods like golden eggs in Dolores Park to gather opinions. This approach revealed new opportunities like tracking inherited assets beyond jewelry. With $93T in generational wealth transfer expected, the company is developing inheritance features. Singhvi emphasizes that customer feedback at scale is crucial for product development and fundraising success. ## Bootstrapping advantage The lack of initial funding forced Unvault to become AI-native, using available tools creatively. This constraint became an advantage when scaling the valuation technology. The founders' financial backgrounds—Singhvi in currency investing and Reddy in options trading—informed their asset liquidity perspective. They positioned gold jewelry as 'the OG asset class' needing modern financial infrastructure. ## Redefining jewelry economics Unvault challenges centuries-old jewelry industry practices by introducing price transparency and liquidity. The platform transforms personal adornments into trackable financial instruments, addressing what Singhvi calls 'the $750 billion asset class hiding in plain sight.' This innovation could extend to other undervalued personal assets, creating new wealth management categories beyond traditional banking products. ## Sources covering this story - https://www.entrepreneur.com/building-a-business/she-founded-a-company-to-help-people-find-wealth-hidden-at-home-its-unlocked-more-than-150-million-so-far-the-og-asset-class — --- _Summary written by Brifing from the original reporting. Copyright in the original article belongs to its publisher; read the full piece at the link above._