Betterment, the staertup for online financial robo-advisor, today announced a $100 million Series E round of funding that has boosted the company’s valuation by 55 percent to $700 million. That’s compared to $450 million from February of 2015 its previous fundraising, according to research firm CB Insights, via Bloomberg.
Founded in 2008 by CEO Jon Stein and Eli Broverman, Bettermen’s total funding todate is $205 million. Robo-advisers use new technology to offer better returns than traditional financial advisers.
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Bloomberg reports that “The fundraising comes as some of the biggest startups in Silicon Valley are seeing their valuations cut by fund managers such as Fidelity Investments, while a number of venture capital firms have paused further investment amid the dropping price tags.”
Swedish investment company Kinnevik led the financing, which includes participation from previous investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Anthemis Group, Menlo Ventures and Francisco Partners.
Over the past 15 months, Betterment, the largest independent robo-adviser, has grown from managing $1.1 billion to now nearly $4 billion in assets for more than 150, 000 customers, according to the company.
“Our goal is to become the central financial relationship for our clients, ” said Jon Stein, Founder and CEO of Betterment. “Over the past year, we’ve made great progress toward that goal with features like RetireGuide and account aggregation, but there is still work to do. It’s the early days for us on our path to helping millions of Americans reach their financial goals.”
“Kinnevik shares our vision of building a technology-driven financial services company that customers love, ” Stein added. “From our first meeting, it was clear that we shared the same values of what a modern day financial company would look like.”
“Betterment is a fast-growing, independent company that has already established itself as a market leader in digital asset management by developing innovative and easy-to-use services, ” said Lorenzo Grabau, CEO of Kinnevik. “In a short period of time, it has attracted a large and loyal group of customers who are investing a growing share of their wealth through the Betterment platform.”
“We are delighted to partner with Jon Stein and Eli Broverman, with Betterment’s entire team and with its existing investors to support the company’s long-term growth, ” added Grabau. “Betterment shares many of the principles that have made other Kinnevik investment companies successful: a mission to make valuable digital services available and affordable to all, a true entrepreneurial spirit, the pursuit of continuous technical innovation, and a belief in building customer-centric businesses that contribute to their communities. Everyone should have access to unconflicted and low-cost financial services that enable them to reach their financial goals.”
