NEW YORK: JPMorgan Chase & Co is launching a platform that aims to connect startup founders with venture capital investors to simplify the fundraising process, the bank told Reuters.

The new platform, Capital Connect, focuses on serving the financing needs of startups from their early stages, marking the ambition of the biggest US bank by assets to further expand into the private market and build a founder-friendly brand in Silicon Valley.

The new team is run by Michael Elanjian, head of Digital Investment Banking and Digital Private Markets at JPMorgan, and has expanded from three to 125 people over the past two years. On Capital Connect, startup founders can ask for introductions to investors, build virtual data rooms and potentially trade their company shares on a secondary market.