India's Digital Real Estate Gets a Titan's Endorsement as Manoj Kohli Joins Alt DRX Board

BENGALURU, India – May 05, 2026 – The world of Indian fintech witnessed a pivotal moment today as Alt DRX, a marketplace for tokenized digital real estate, announced that business magnate Manoj Kohli has joined its Advisory Board. The move is being widely interpreted as a powerful stamp of legitimacy for the nascent asset tokenization sector, suggesting a shift from speculative experiment to a credible force in India's financial landscape.

Mr. Kohli, the former MD & CEO of Bharti Airtel and ex-Country Head of SoftBank India, brings a formidable legacy of scaling businesses to immense proportions. His appointment as a non-director advisor is seen not just as a win for Alt DRX, but as a signal to the broader market that institutional heavyweights are now taking the fractional ownership of real assets seriously. This marks a potential turning point for a technology that aims to fundamentally alter how property is owned, traded, and accessed by the common investor.

The Kohli Effect: A Stamp of Institutional Trust

Manoj Kohli is a name synonymous with India's digital transformation. At Bharti Airtel, he was instrumental in growing the subscriber base from a mere two million to over 400 million across 20 countries. Later, at SoftBank India, he oversaw more than $15 billion in investments into a portfolio of now-household names, including Ola, OYO, and Zomato. His decision to advise a digital real estate platform is a profound statement about the perceived potential of asset tokenization.

He joins an already star-studded Advisory Board, creating what the company calls a “formidable self-governance wall.” This includes figures like Mr. G.N. Bajpai, the former Chairman of both the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), and Mr. Richard Rekhy, the former CEO of KPMG India.

In a statement, Mr. Bajpai, who serves as the Chair of Alt DRX's Advisory Board, emphasized the strategic importance of this addition. "Alt DRX's Advisory Board has been assembled on one principle — bringing together minds who have actually built institutions, scaled markets, and shaped policy, rather than merely observed them," he said. "Manoj Kohli embodies that rare combination of both strategic & operational depth that our young, but pathbreaking, company deeply needs as it enters its next phase of growth."

For his part, Mr. Kohli highlighted the social and financial mission that attracted him to the venture. "Housing is the most aspirational asset class in India and yet it has remained out of reach for many Indians," Mr. Kohli stated. "Tokenisation appears to have the potential to change that arithmetic permanently — not as a speculative instrument, but as an asset anchored access to qualified real estate. What Alt DRX has built in a short span, with deep foundational process credibility, is truly impressive."

Unlocking Property for the Masses? The Promise and Peril

At the heart of Alt DRX's mission is the concept of democratizing property ownership. The company operates as a Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) marketplace that allows individuals to buy fractional stakes in real estate, with minimum investments reportedly as low as ₹10,000. This model stands in stark contrast to the high capital requirements of traditional real estate, which often run into tens of lakhs of rupees, and even other fractional ownership platforms where minimums can range from ₹1 lakh to ₹25 lakh.

By converting physical property into digital tokens on a blockchain ledger, the platform aims to provide greater liquidity and accessibility for 'middle India'. Anand Narayanan, Co-Founder of Alt DRX, stressed that building trust is paramount. "We believe that the credibility of our governance structure is as important as the credibility of our technology," he commented. "The willingness of Mr Kohli along with that of other Advisory Board members to associate with Alt DRX is a powerful validation."

However, the path to true democratization is paved with challenges. While tokenization promises enhanced liquidity, the reality depends on the existence of a robust and active secondary market, which is still developing. Furthermore, the regulatory landscape for fractional ownership in India remains complex. While platforms operating within GIFT City are finding a structured path under the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), the broader market operates in a grey area. SEBI has expressed concerns about the lack of uniform valuation standards and investor protection on unregulated platforms, where investors often own shares in a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) rather than holding direct rights to the property.

A Global Game and a Competitive Home Turf

Alt DRX's ambitions are not confined to India. The company has already secured a license from the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) as a Token Service Provider, giving it a foothold in the Middle East under a newly established digital assets framework. Concurrently, it is pursuing consent from IFSCA at GIFT City to tokenize USD-denominated offshore assets. This two-pronged strategy of securing regulatory approval in progressive jurisdictions positions the firm for cross-border growth, an area where Mr. Kohli's global experience will be invaluable.

The domestic market is also heating up. Alt DRX faces competition from other players like LandBitt and RealX, which also target retail investors with low entry points. Meanwhile, platforms like Terazo are operating within the regulated IFSCA sandbox but are initially targeting higher-net-worth individuals with minimums of $100,000. This bifurcation highlights a market that is evolving at different speeds for different investor segments.

With a reported Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) of approximately ₹35 crores and having raised around ₹45 crores in growth capital, Alt DRX has established itself as a serious contender. The endorsement from a leader of Manoj Kohli’s stature provides a significant tailwind. However, the ultimate success of its mission to redefine real estate ownership will hinge on its ability to build a liquid secondary market and navigate the evolving regulatory frameworks that will ultimately determine the future of digital assets in India and beyond.