Acorns, a Newport Beach, Calif.-based micro-investing app, raised $30m in funding.
Backers included PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) and Rakuten Fintech Fund. In conjunction with the funding, Acorns co-founder and CEO Walter Cruttenden is moving into the role of chairman while Noah Kerner is becoming CEO.
The company, which has raised a total of $62m, intends to use the funds to expand its automated investment features.
Launched 20 months ago by father and son team Walter and Jeff Cruttenden, Acorns provides more than 850,000 people with a iPhone and Android micro-investing app featuring Invest the Change, which rounds up everyday purchases and invests the difference, and Grow, a digital magazine dedicated to helping millennials navigate complex financial decisions.
FinSMEs
21/04/2016
PRESS RELEASE
Acorns Raises $30M in Funding to Expand its Micro-investing Products, Services, and Partnerships
PayPal, Rakuten Fintech Fund, and returning investors e.ventures, Greycroft Partners lead investment in millennial-focused, micro-investing app
IRVINE, Calif., April 21, 2016 – Acorns, the fastest-growing micro-investing app in the world, today announced it has raised $30 million in financing, including strategic investments from PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) and Rakuten Fintech Fund. Through this investment, Acorns will expand its automated investment features to make gathering and growing funds easier than ever before.
“Acorns and PayPal share a vision of democratizing financial services and offering innovative solutions to help people build financial health,” said Joanna Lambert, vice president of global consumer product and engineering at PayPal. “Technology is breaking down barriers to financial participation. PayPal is excited to support Acorns as they continue to use mobile technology to innovate in micro-investing, and empower millennials to take charge of their finances.”
Acorns offers a simple way to start building a solid financial future, helping investors chart a path to financial wellness by eliminating the barriers that have traditionally made investing so daunting. Oskar Mielczarek de la Miel, Managing Partner at the Rakuten FinTech Fund states, “We are very excited about Acorns’ high growth model and the close alignment between Acorns’ philosophy of financial empowerment of the millennial community and Rakuten’s core values.”
More than 850,000 people have opened investment accounts with Acorns since the app launched 20 months ago, taking advantage of features like Invest the Change,® which rounds up everyday purchases and invests the difference, and education initiatives like Grow, the first digital magazine dedicated to helping millennials navigate complex financial decisions. Nearly 75 percent of Acorns users are between the ages of 18 and 34. “Having PayPal and Rakuten as partners will make it possible to bring the benefits of micro-investing to more and more people around the world,” said Acorns co-founder and CEO Walter Cruttenden, who is moving into the role of chairman. “We believe that micro-investing will ultimately comprise the majority of new investment dollars entering the markets.”
“Investing was for the wealthy,” said Noah Kerner, board director and incoming CEO. “Acorns is putting the tools of wealth-making in everyone’s hands. With a focus on financial wellness, we’ll continue tackling the big financial challenges this generation faces, and our new partnerships will significantly augment these efforts.”
To date, Acorns has raised a total of $62 million.