Entrée Capital provides multi-stage funding for innovative start-ups and companies all over the world.  Entrée Capital was founded by successful entrepreneurs with a track record of having successfully invested and exited over twenty businesses on five continents in the past decade. They have offices in London, Tel Aviv and San Francisco

Entrée Capital

Valar Ventures is a venture capital firm backed by Peter Thiel. Valar partners with entrepreneurs globally and believes that an increasing number of transformative technology companies will be started outside of Silicon Valley, and that the founders of those companies will benefit from having a partner that understands their unique challenges and opportunities.

Valar Ventures

Goodwater empowers exceptional entrepreneurs everywhere to change the world for the better. They believe consumer technology is a force on earth, shaping culture and transforming the global economy at unprecedented speed and scale. They invest in promising entrepreneurs to solve pressing problems. As a combined force, Goodwater companies are a global force for change, poised to measurably improve billions of lives.

Goodwater Capital

T. Rowe Price is an investment management firm dedicated to funding technology startups. The firm serves individuals, financial intermediaries, and institutions and offers a full range of investment strategies across a broad spectrum: debt, equities, and private equities.

T. Rowe Price

Union Square Ventures is a private equity and venture capital firm focused on early-stage, growth capital, late-stage, and startup financing. The USV portfolio companies create services that have the potential to fundamentally transform important markets.  It exclusively invests in the internet world, focusing on the applications layer of the web, internet services, and web services that create large networks as well as the mobile sector. Some of its invested companies are based in New York, San Francisco, London, Berlin, and places in between. It typically makes a starting investment in portfolio companies of $1 million. In certain Series Around cases, the firm may make a starting investment between $2.5 million to $3 million. It typically invests up to $20 million in any single company. Union Square Ventures was founded in 2003 and is based in New York, United States.

Union Square Ventures

Breyer Capital is a premier global venture capital and private equity investor focused on catalyzing high-impact entrepreneurs in the United States and China. Founded by Jim Breyer in 2006, Breyer Capital makes long-term, idea-driven strategic investments in its chosen core areas: social media, entertainment/media, digital health, and financial technologies.  Breyer Capital actively partners with a diverse set of companies including early-stage startups building breakthrough technologies, fast growing companies, and established worldwide leading corporations. Its team enjoys helping to frame strategic investments anchored by the passion of founders and owner/operator teams, the insights of its network of world-class investors, and a conviction that artificial intelligence, machine learning, and virtual reality will transform technology and investment opportunities globally.

Breyer Capital

Coatue is a privately owned hedge fund sponsor. The firm invests in the public equity markets globally focusing on investments in technology, media, and telecommunications in addition to other sectors. It employs a long or short strategy to make its investments.

Coatue

Founders Fund is a venture capital firm that invests at every stage in companies building revolutionary technologies. It has been investors, founders, and early employees of prominent technology companies. It has historically invested in a wide variety of sectors, including aerospace, artificial intelligence, advanced computing, energy, health, and consumer Internet.

Founders Fund

Greenspring Associates is a global investment firm that provides commingled funds and customized partnership capabilities to a diverse group of institutions and individuals in North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Australia. Through a synergistic platform, the firm invests in established and emerging venture capital fund managers, in early and growth stage venture-backed companies and in secondary venture capital fund and secondary direct investments. Currently managing over $7.3 billion of committed capital, its dedicated investment team combines broad venture fund and direct investment expertise.

Greenspring Associates

Owl Ventures is a venture capital fund that invests in education technology companies. The firm has invested in 24 companies across the education spectrum encompassing early childhood, K-12, higher education, and career mobility/professional learning. Owl leverages its deep domain expertise and takes an active hands-on approach to help entrepreneurs scale their businesses into transformative category-leading companies. The firm was founded in 2014 and has over $600 million in assets under management.

Owl Ventures

Eldridge Industries invests across insurance, asset management, technology, mobility, sports & gaming, media & music, real estate, and consumer industries. The firm seeks to build and grow businesses led by proven management teams that have demonstrated leadership and experience to scale an enterprise.  Eldridge Industries is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, with additional offices across the United States and London.

Eldridge Industries

LendingTree, LLC is an online lending exchange, providing a marketplace that connects consumers with multiple lenders that compete for their business.   LendingTree provides access to lenders offering mortgages and refinance loans, home equity loans/lines of credit, auto loans, personal loans and credit cards.   Launched in 1998 with headquarters in Charlotte, N.C., LendingTree also owns and operates LendingTree Loans sm, GetSmart.com, and HomeLoanCenter.com.  LendingTree, LLC is a subsidiary of Tree.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: TREE).

LendingTree

Stash

Stash develops a personal finance application to combine banking, investing, and advice into one platform. Its application's services include personal investment accounts, retirement accounts, and custodial accounts for minors. It also provides the option to buy fractional shares of stocks, bonds, and funds with no add-on trading commissions to help users save small sums of money and make micro-investments.

<div>Founded by Brandon Kreig in 2015, Stash is a subscription-based platform that provides educational tools and personalized advice to middle-class Americans to help them build long-term, diversified investment portfolios. In June 2021, the company reported a 100% increase in revenue over the past 12 months and a total of more than 6 million customers.</div>

Remote learning is driving an education technology revolution.

EdTech: K-12

Stash Financial provides a digital banking and investing platform for retail customers. It operates under a subscription model, providing both a banking and investment account.

Making banking work, without the paperwork

Neobanks

Stash Financial provides an investing and digital banking platform for retail customers. It offers an investment account with users having the option to open a taxable, discretionary-managed, or individual retirement arrangement (IRA) brokerage account. The company provides investment advice and allows users to choose between automated investing and online trading. Users are able to invest in different asset classes such as stocks, ETFs, bonds, and cryptocurrencies through the app. It operates under a subscription model, providing both an investing and banking account for a monthly fee in the range of USD 3–9. The company also provides free group health insurance under each subscription plan and rewards customers with stocks of up to USD 1000 for spending on its Stock-Back debit card, instead of cashback or redeemable points.

Retail investors demanding sophisticated passive investment strategies are looking for an edge.

Retail Trading Infrastructure

<div>
 
 Founded by Brandon Kreig in 2015, Stash is a subscription-based platform that provides educational tools and personalized advice to middle-class Americans to help them build long-term, diversified investment portfolios. In June 2021, the company reported a 100% increase in revenue over the past 12 months and a total of more than 6 million customers.
 
 
 In June 2021, the company deepened its presence in the education sector through its first acquisition, PayGrade (formerly BoulayBank), a financial literacy platform for students founded in 2016 by Janessa and Tim Boulay. The acquisition allows Stash to provide teachers, parents, and children with tools and education to build effective money management skills in line with its mission of supporting middle-class Americans with investment decisions. Stash plans to expand PayGrade’s offering to include digital tools for parents to teach and reinforce money skills at home. The new version of PayGrade will be called Stash101.
 
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 Founded in 2016, BookNook is an online literacy platform designed for learners in grades 1-5. Partnering with school districts and non-profit organizations, the company focuses on human-to-human learning and works with children one-on-one or in small groups, enabling it to gather rich, observational data. As of June 2021, the company partnered with hundreds of schools, school districts, and non-profits across 35 states.
 
 
 BookNook differs from other digital literacy tools by not requiring students to take formative assessments to check for their understanding. Rather, the platform lets teachers record qualitative data on oral fluency, such as whether a student pauses at punctuation marks as they read aloud, or reads in set phrases. Students can also record self-reflections on the platform.
 
 
 In June 2021, the company partnered with MIND Research Institute, a neuroscience and education social impact organization and creator of the PreK-8 visual instructional program ST Math, to deliver a High Dosage Tutoring program (HDT) for math to K-8 students to address unfinished learning. BookNook tutors will deliver tutoring sessions using the ST Math program over BookNook’s synchronous learning platform. The company launched a new teacher application portal at booknooktutor.com in October 2021, giving experienced teachers the opportunity to apply to become BookNook virtual tutors on its platform. BookNook intends to engage 10,000 virtual teachers to support 80,000 students by the end of the 2021-2022 school year.
 
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BookNook

<div>
 
 Story2 uses its proprietary Moments Method writing system, its StoryBuilder software, and live online group coaching to help high school students and professionals improve their writing, speaking, storytelling, and collaboration skills. 
 
 
 The company aims to help different segments with their specific needs: students with college admission and scholarship essays, professionals preparing for interviews and creating cover letters, and business teams to improve sales, recruiting and company messaging through effective storytelling.
 
 
 Since 2013, Story2 has worked with more than 200,000 individuals in 21 countries with college admission essays, interview preparation, and pitching ideas. The company is expanding into China and India in 2020 and plans to focus on helping science and technology students improve their communication and leadership skills.
 
 
 
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Story2

<div>
 
 Vooks offers a subscription-based, ad-free curated library of children's books converted to video with narration and some slow-paced animation, allowing children to read along while watching. Aimed at young children aged 6 months to 8 years, Vooks promotes reading aloud to develop fluency and comprehension. The company was founded by siblings Marshall Bex and Shannon Bex, and Russell Hirtzel, and is reportedly the first-ever streaming service for books with illustrations, read-along text and animations.
 
 
 In February 2020, Vooks raised USD 12 million in Series A funding; however, the investors and purpose of the funding were not disclosed. In November 2020, the company raised USD 21.9 million in equity investments from more than 30 investors.
 
 
 In November 2020, Vooks partnered with United Way of Metropolitan Dallas (UWMD), a community-based, nonprofit social change organization, and Atmos Energy, a natural gas distributor, to provide around 78,000 one-year Vooks subscriptions for children aged 3 to 6 and early education teachers in the Greater Dallas area. The program is funded by a USD 1 million contribution from Atmos Energy, and contributes to UWMD’s Aspire United 2030 education goal of increasing the number of North Texas students reading at grade level by third grade by 50%. Similarly, in March 2021, the company partnered with Reach Out and Read Of Greater New York (ROR GNY), a nonprofit organization of healthcare providers who promote early literacy. The partnership aims to provide more than 75,000 preschool children with one-year Vooks subscriptions starting in March 2021.
 
 
 In July 2021, it was reported that Vooks is offering its service to authors and producers as a way of quickly testing ideas with audiences through simple animated shorts. Thereby, Vooks expands its library of original content while authors and producers get real-time performance data.
 
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Vooks

<div>
 
 Xeropan offers an AI-powered, game-based approach to learning English through 14 of the most widely-spoken languages. As of October 2020, the app had more than one million players.
 
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Xeropan

<div>
 
 GoGuardian is a provider of student security software solutions to help educators identify learning patterns, protect students from harmful and distracting content, and support students at risk of self-harm and suicide. As of August 2021, the company had partnered with more than 10,000 schools in the US, covering more than 22 million students.  
 
 
 In November 2020, GoGuardian announced a 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/1863">
 merger with Pear Deck
 </a>
 to deepen the support provided to students and teachers and improve their in-class experience. Founded in 2014, Pear Deck is a student engagement platform that allows teachers to create, edit, and launch multimedia content and formative assessments on students' devices to increase student engagement. At the time of the merger, Pear Deck was used by 8 million educators and students in more than 17,000 schools worldwide. Pear Deck co-founder and Chief Educator, Michal Eynon-Lynch, will join the GoGuardian Board of Directors. In May 2022, the company acquired 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10683">
 TutorMe,
 </a>
 Zovio’s tutoring services business, for USD 55 million in cash to strengthen its product offering. 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In August 2021, GoGuardian secured a USD 200 million investment from Tiger Global Management. The funds will be allocated for product innovation, talent acquisition, and business development. 
 
 
 
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GoGuardian

Adaptive learning platforms, personalized learning plans, and AI-powered analytics provide insight into student performance

Learning platforms that promote an inclusive and equitable educational culture for underserved communities

Uses AI/ML to create personalized learning plans, adaptive learning platforms, and intelligent tutoring systems

Businesses delivering curriculum-based learning, particularly relating to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education to educational institutions and individual students.

Stash Financial provides a digital banking and investing platform for retail customers. It operates under a subscription model, providing both a banking and investment account.The Stash Growth subscription plan is priced at USD 3 per month and includes an FDIC-insured banking account as well as a “Stock-Back” debit card. The account provides a two-day advance feature on direct deposits, with users also being able to access over 55,000 fee-free Allpoint ATMs and fast cash deposit machines. It also does not have any minimum balance requirements, overdraft fees, or monthly maintenance fees. The subscription plan also includes an investment account with users having the option to open a taxable, discretionary-managed, or individual retirement arrangement (IRA) brokerage account. The company provides investment advice and also allows users to choose between automated and individual investing options.The Stash+ subscription plan is priced at USD 9 per month, and, in addition to the benefits of Stash Growth, users receive family finance advice and market insights and the option to open up to two custodial investment accounts for their children. In addition, the company rewards customers with stocks for spending on its Stock-Back debit card upto USD 1,000, instead of cashback or redeemable points.Customers are able to invest in different asset classes such as stocks, ETFs, bonds as well as cryptocurrencies through the app. The company also provides free group health insurance to its customers under each subscription plan.Key customers and partnershipsThe company does not have its own banking license and offers its services and debit card in partnership with Stride Bank and a license from Mastercard. In addition, it partnered with Avibra to provide group health insurance to its customers.As of October 2023, the company had over two million active subscribers.Funding and financialsIn October 2023, Stash secured USD 40 million in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22777">convertible note financing</a>, led by T. Rowe Price Investment Management with participation from Goodwater Capital and Union Square Ventures. It planned to use the fresh funds to expand its range of services and to position itself for a potential IPO.In FY2021, the company reported revenue of USD 125 million, with deposits increasing by 30% YoY. It also claimed that subscription fees accounted for nearly 80% of its revenue. Furthermore, as of October 2022, the company had USD 3 billion in assets under management (AUM) with 2 million customers.

Brazil-based Nubank offers banking products and services via a web portal and a mobile app, with the application process being done entirely online. The company serves both B2C and B2B segments and operates in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina.The company initially entered the neobanking space in 2014 by offering credit cards and focused on providing it at low interest rates, compared to established banks. Since then, the company has grown to offer the full spectrum of banking services, which includes checking accounts, debit cards (with ATM access), credit cards (with credit limits as low as USD 10 per month), and loans, following the receipt of its own banking license in Brazil in 2017. Checking accounts and debit cards are offered free of charge, and the company therefore solely generates income from these accounts from ATM and interchange fees.In addition to its banking products, the company also offers life and mobile insurance products and Peer to Peer (P2P) payment options via Pix (a payment platform introduced by Brazil’s Central Bank). The company also offers in-app shopping at retailers such as AliExpress, Dafiti, and Magalu, as well as a rewards program that enables customers to earn and redeem points at selected merchants.Nubank also provides a trading app–NuInvest–through which its Brazilian customers can trade stocks and cryptocurrency, with the company charging ~0.02% per transaction. In addition, it launched its loyalty program, backed by its native cryptocurrency Nucoin, to customers in Brazil <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16847">in March 2023 </a>. Members will receive a fixed amount of Nucoins for every BRL spent with their debit or credit card as well as on any cryptocurrency purchases through its app. The Nucoins can be converted into cash or frozen and used to advance in the loyalty program and gain access to future incentives such as coinback rewards and lottery tickets. Moreover, Nubank was selected by the Central Bank of Brazil in August 2023, to <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21164">test Drex </a>, a central bank digital currency (CBDC); the pilot phase is expected to be complete by the end of 2024.The company has also expanded its footprint to Mexico and Colombia. In Mexico, it provides both credit cards and savings accounts, however in Colombia, it only offers credit cards. It also had plans to launch digital checking accounts in Colombia by the end of 2023 after it received the Colombian banking license in August 2022.Key customers and partnerships As of February 2024, the company served more than 90 million customers, with the majority located in Brazil.The company partnered with Brazilian lending platform Creditas ( <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/5565">in September 2021 </a>) to allow its customers gain access to the latter’s platform to obtain loans, and EBANX (in July 2023) to launch a new alternative payment service for international purchases called NuPay. In addition, it collaborated with insurance provider Chubb to offer <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19597">life </a>and <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/20948">home </a>insurance offerings on its platform.Funding and financialsIn December 2021, Nubank was listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the trading symbol NJ, raising nearly USD 2.6 billion, at a valuation of USD 41.5 billion, making it the most valuable listed financial institution in South America. The fresh funds were expected to be funneled into Nubank’s expansion into Mexico and Colombia.In addition, it secured a <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15777">three year USD 150 million loan </a>from the International Finance Corp (the private lending arm of the World Bank) in January 2023, to expand its operations and improve access to financial services in Colombia.For the full year 2022, the company generated a total revenue of USD 4.8 billion (up 182.2% YoY), while it incurred net losses of USD 364.6 million.

Nubank

London-based Revolut offers digital banking and lending products to both B2C and B2B segments via a web portal and mobile app. Within its B2C segment, the company offers its products under four tiers. The standard package, which is offered free of charge, enables users to open bank accounts (including joint-accounts), access personal financial management (PFM) tools, make international money transfers and payments, as well as set up bill splitting and recurring payments. The cost for packages with additional features stands between GBP 3.99 to GBP 14.99 per month (for UK customers) and includes features such as insurance, faster money transfers, and disposable virtual debit cards. In addition, Revolut launched <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15855">a top-tier subscription plan called Ultra </a>, priced at GBP 45 per month. This includes a variety of perks such as those centered around travel and investing. The company also expanded into the InsurTech product vertical by launching a new standalone pet insurance product.Business accounts are offered free of charge with additional features (such as multi-currency accounts, debit/credit cards, and financial management tools) being available at GBP 25-100 per month. Revolut also provides hardware for in-person payments in the UK and Ireland through its <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11502">Revolut card reader. </a>It charges GBP/EUR 0.02 + 0.8% per transaction and a one-off cost or customized pricing for high-volume businesses. It also launched an online checkout payment feature ( <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12934">Revolut Pay </a>) for businesses, which can be set-up on merchant websites and mobile checkout pages via plug-ins or APIs. The company has also acquired Nobly POS (Nobly) in November 2021, a technology provider for the hospitality industry, to further strengthen its business offering. Revolut was also intending to join Irish based Synch Payments’ money transfer application in June 2022.It also launched a dedicated income, payment, and expense management account– <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13211">Revolut Pro </a>–aimed at freelancers and the self-employed. The account does not charge any monthly fees nor does it require any minimum monthly balance or deposits. In addition to business account features, it also provides a dedicated International Bank Account Number (IBAN) and a 1% cashback debit card to customers. The account can also be used for accepting payments either in-person using the <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11502">Revolut Reader </a>or online with QR codes. In addition, Revolut also offers a streamlined version of its app– <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14797">Revolut Lite </a>–for customers in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, offering cross-border money transfers for free. Moreover, as an alternative to SWIFT payments, Revolut launched <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22016">RevTags</a> for business customers and <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/25792">Mobile Wallets</a> for retail individuals, offering a free cross-border payment solution.Revolut also offers a stock trading platform (launched in January 2022) to its US customers, where users can trade over 1,100 securities on the NYSE and NASDAQ, including ETFs and full and fractional shares, at zero commission. It rolled out the platform to EEA customers <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18513">in May 2023</a>, providing access to over 150 ETFs and European listed stocks. Furthermore, Revolut launched a <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19814">robo-advisory platform</a> in the US (launched in June 2023), allowing consumers to automate their investments by selecting from five diverse portfolios based on their risk tolerance. It charges an annual fee of 0.25% and customers can start investing with a monthly minimum of USD 0.25. Furthermore, the robo-advisory platform was made available to <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/26846">EEA customers</a> in February 2024.In addition, it offers cryptocurrency trading services in the US, Singapore as well as <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12407">the European Economic Area </a>(through a regulatory approval received from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission). It also received <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13362?industryIds=59">full registration from the UK FCA </a>to offer cryptocurrency trading services in September 2022. Customers can trade over 100 individual cryptocurrencies or buy collections, which are tokens grouped based on the underlying technology and use case for each token. In addition, customers can stake their tokens within the app (limited to UK and EEA customers) and also use the Revolut Card to make payments in cryptocurrency for ecommerce and in-person purchases. Revolut had also planned to launch its own token–RevCoin, as part of its rewards program. However, it temporarily paused the launch of it in January 2023, owing to the downturn in the crypto markets. Additionally, Revolut used to offer crypto investments in the US but suspended it owing to an uncertain and stricter regulatory environment in September 2023.As of July 2023, the company operated in Europe, the UK, US, Australia, Singapore, Switzerland, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, and New Zealand. Furthermore, it had plans to roll out its services in India. It was granted a full banking license for its operations in the European Union by the European Central Bank (ECB) in December 2021 and a Direct Credit Society (SCD) license by the Central Bank of Brazil in May 2024. In addition, the company has also applied for banking licenses in the UK (in January 2021) and the US (in March 2021) to expand its product offerings in these markets.Key customers and partnershipsAs of December 2023, the company served ~35 million retail customers across 38 countries. The UK remains Revolut’s largest market, with over 6.8 million customers, followed by Romania (2.8 million customers), Poland (2.5 million) and France (2.2 million).The company partnered with payments infrastructure provider Stripe, to facilitate payments across Europe and the UK, with plans to extend the partnership to Brazil and Mexico. The two companies were also seeking additional opportunities to collaborate. The company also collaborated with Upvest, a FinTech infrastructure provider, to launch a trading platform for its customers in the EEA. Upvest was responsible for the brokerage, settlement, and custody infrastructure, as well as obtaining regulatory permissions through its German licenses. Revolut also offers auto insurance in Ireland in partnership with AIG.Funding and financialsIn July 2021, the company raised <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/5556">USD 800 million in Series E </a>funding co-led by Softbank Vision Fund 2 and Tiger Global at a valuation of USD 33 billion. Revolut has planned to use the funding to expand its geographical presence, particularly in the US and India, and develop new products.In 2022, Revolut recorded revenue of USD 1.1 billion (GBP 923 million), up 45% YoY, while its net profit declined 78% YoY to USD 6.9 million (GBP 5.8 million).

Revolut

Avant provides personal loans and credit cards to consumers via a web portal. The company focuses on providing loans to underserved segments of the market, which include customers with ‘fair’ or ‘bad’ credit scores who are typically not able to gain access to loans and other forms of credit from traditional financial institutions. Applications for loans are completed online to make the process more accessible and convenient to individuals. The company does not possess its own banking license; instead, the company uses its credit products under the license of WebBank and operates in the US, Canada, and the UK.The company expanded its offering to launch digital banking solutions in December 2021 which include Avant Banking’s offerings include spending accounts (with no minimum balance required), debit cards, and ACH transfers, under the banking license of Evolve Bank &amp; Trust. Avant also allows users with direct deposits to access payday funds up to two days early, along with virtual cards that can be added to Apple Wallet or Google Pay. Avant does not charge fees for account maintenance or foreign transactions.Avant requires a minimum annual income of USD 20,000 to gain approval for a loan. The company’s clientele largely comprises middle-class individuals with annual household incomes in the range of USD 40,000-100,000. Loans approved by the company range between USD 2,000-35,000, with monthly repayment plans of 2-5 years. Given the high-risk nature of the company’s clientele, interest rates charged on loans tend to be on the higher side, with the lowest rate starting at 9.95% APR (Annual Percentage Rate). The company also provides credit cards with credit limits between USD 300-1,000.The company also uses an in-house formula for calculating credit risk, which the company claims has been more useful than traditional credit scoring methods such as FICO credit scores which are based on a limited number of variables. The company’s formula uses machine learning algorithms and other big data techniques to gather additional data and analyzes about 10,000 variables to determine an individual’s credit score; it also claims that it can predict the likelihood of a customer defaulting on a loan with 57% better accuracy than FICO scores alone.In April 2021, the company acquired Zero Financial, a mobile banking developer, along with its Neobank operations (Level). The acquisition was intended to aid Avant in expanding its product portfolio to provide digital banking solutions to its customers.Key customers and partnershipsAs of December 2022, the company served over three million customers and had issued more than one million credit cards.Funding and financialsAvant secured <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15154">USD 250 million in corporate debt and redeemable preferred equity </a>from Ares Management’s Alternative Credit funds in December 2022. It had planned to use the fresh funds to expand its credit portfolio and platform.The company generated a total revenue of USD 265 million in 2020. As of December 2022, the company is reported to have provided around USD 8 billion worth of loans.

Avant

<div>
 
 Chime provides banking services to its customers via a web portal and a mobile app. The company provides no-fee mobile banking solutions, and offers savings accounts, checking accounts, and debit cards (with ATM access) to its customers. The company does not provide loans and does not charge monthly, foreign exchange, or overdraft fees (for transactions up to USD 200), and therefore primarily generates its revenue from interchange and ATM fees. The company claims that accounts can be created in as little as two minutes, and uses video identification to verify an individual&rsquo;s identity. The company does not impose minimum balance requirements and mainly focuses on serving individuals who earn between USD 30,000-75,000 per year.&nbsp;
 
 
 In June 2020, the company entered the credit card space by launching &lsquo;CreditBuilder&rsquo;. Despite being introduced as a credit card, the card has similar functionality to a debit card, which allows users to transfer funds from their checking accounts, and spend up to the transferred amount where Visa is accepted, reducing the tendency to overspend. At month&rsquo;s end, CreditBuilder automatically pays off the credit card balance using the transferred funds and reports the payment to credit bureaus. The CreditBuilder card is primarily targeted at millennials and Gen Z customers, to aid in developing and building up their credit history.&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 Chime stands as the largest Neobank in the digital banking space in the US, with&nbsp; 12 million customers&nbsp; (reported as of February 2021). The company does not own its own banking license and provides its services under the licenses of Bancorp Bank and Stride Bank.&nbsp;
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In September 2020, the company raised USD 533.8 million in Series F funding backed by multiple investors such as Tiger, ICONIQ, and General Atlantic. In August 2021, the company raised a further USD 750 million, led by Sequoia Capital Global Equities, at a valuation of USD 25 billion. The funding is expected to be used to scale operations and expand its business reach. The latest round of funding is also expected to set the stage for a potential IPO in the future.&nbsp;
 
 
 In January 2022, Reuters reported that Chime was to go public led by investment bank Goldman Sachs. Reports say that the company could aim for a valuation of almost USD 40 billion, which could be launched as early as Spring 2022. However, the company paused its IPO aspirations following the downturn in the IPO market.
 
 
 The company claims that revenue and transaction volumes witnessed threefold growth between January and September 2020, owing to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the same period, the company also stated that it was able to become profitable on an EBITDA basis.
 
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Chime

London-based Starling Bank offers banking products for both the B2C and B2B segments via a web portal and mobile app, and operates under its own banking license.The bank’s B2C segment offers current accounts, debit cards and personal overdrafts. The current accounts are provided free of charge, and customers also benefit from free ATM withdrawals and transaction fees when abroad. In addition, Starling offers teen bank accounts for 16- and 17-year-olds, and also allows parents to create debit cards for children aged 6–16 that are linked to their individual current account. Customers can also create up to five virtual cards that are linked to “Saving Spaces,” which are separate accounts for specific savings or expenses that are not connected to a customer’s main account. If a Space budget is used up, the virtual card will be declined instead of drawing funds from a customer’s main account.Its B2B segment provides free business accounts primarily targeted at SMEs, which includes features such as fixed savings, overdraft facilities, and business loans. Additionally, Starling offers multi-currency accounts for individuals (euros) for free, while it charges GBP 2 and GBP 5 per month for Euro and US dollar businesses accounts, respectively. It also offers international money transfer services to 38 different countries at a 0.4% transfer fee and a fixed delivery fee of GBP 5.50. Starling Bank also offers Bills Manager features for personal accounts and small business accounts, which allows users with direct debit or standing order options and streamline and record finances that also automatically sync with other accounting tools such as Xero and FreeAgent provided through the Starling Marketplace. It also introduced a subscription-based Business Toolkit feature to support payroll, tax and supplier payments, which cost GBP 7 per month.The company has also developed a Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform called <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/20982">Engine</a>. It is an all-in-one platform licensed to other banks to develop their own digital banking services such as checking accounts, savings, loans, and mortgages, rather than building the capabilities from scratch. The company was to use Engine as an alternative to expand internationally rather than launching its own retail bank.In July 2021, Starling Bank acquired buy-to-let mortgage lender Fleet Mortgages in a cash and equity deal of GBP 50 million (~USD 68 million), with plans to leverage its lending operations to enter the mortgage sector, becoming the first entirely digital bank in the UK to do so. The acquisition (its first) is in line with the bank’s strategy to expand its line of credit products through strategic forward-flow arrangements, organic lending, and targeted M&amp;A activity. In November 2021, Starling Bank purchased the mortgage book worth around GBP 1 billion (~USD 1.3 billion) from Kensington Mortgages. This was followed by the purchase of another loan book worth roughly GBP 500 million (~USD 607 million) from the defunct UK-based banked Masthaven in a bid to diversify its portfolio beyond government-backed Covid-19 loans, which accounted for GBP 1.9 billion (92.5%) of its GBP 2.0 billion SME loan book as of March 2022.Key customers and partnershipsAs of <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15551?industryIds=59">January 2023</a>, Starling Bank served nearly 3.4 million customers (both B2C and B2B), which includes ~520,000 SME accounts representing 8.9% of the UK SME banking market according to the company.Funding and financialsIn April 2022, Starling Bank raised GBP 130.5 million (USD 164.4 million) in funding from existing investors such as Fidelity Management and Goldman Sachs. The company aimed to use the funds to support growth and explore more acquisition opportunities.In FY2022 (ending 31 March 2022), Starling Bank’s total income grew 114% YoY to GBP 188 million (USD 259 million), primarily due to an increase in net interest income of 123% YoY to GBP 122 million. It reported its first year of profitable operations with a net profit of GBP 44.9 million in FY2022. The bank’s capitalization ratio (CET1) dipped to ~40% from ~48% in FY2021, while its liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) improved to 513% from 506% over the same period. Its profitability (Return on Tangible Equity - pre-tax) was 9.31% in FY2022.

Starling Bank

AI/ML is used to process applications, analyze spending habits, and assess creditworthiness

Digital banking (specialized) (B2C) segment caters to underbanked and minority groups

Open banking is an enabler for the neobanking industry

Platforms offering digital checking and savings accounts that target all types of individual consumers

Stash Financial provides an investing and digital banking platform for retail customers. It offers an investment account with users having the option to open a taxable, discretionary-managed, or individual retirement arrangement (IRA) brokerage account. The company provides investment advice and allows users to choose between automated investing and online trading. Users are able to invest in different asset classes such as stocks, ETFs, bonds, and cryptocurrencies through the app. It operates under a subscription model, providing both an investing and banking account for a monthly fee in the range of USD 3–9. The company also provides free group health insurance under each subscription plan and rewards customers with stocks of up to USD 1000 for spending on its Stock-Back debit card, instead of cashback or redeemable points.Funding and financials<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23225">In October 2023 </a>, Stash Financial raised USD 40 million in funding through <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22777">convertible notes </a>led by T. Rowe Price Investment Management. The company intended to utilize the funds to expand its range of services and to position itself for potential public offerings.In FY2021, the company reported revenue of USD 125 million, with deposits increasing by 30% YoY. It also claimed that subscription fees accounted for nearly 80% of its revenue. Furthermore, as of October 2022, the company had USD 3 billion in assets under management (AUM) with 2 million users.

Ellevest is a hybrid investment management platform that specifically targets women, with an algorithm that takes into account gender-specific factors such as career breaks, longer life expectancy, and income differences.Ellevest currently offers services under three categories: Ellevest Essential (at a monthly fee of USD 1), Ellevest Plus (USD 5 per month), and Ellevest Executive (USD 9 per month). All three offerings include portfolio customization, banking services (spending and savings accounts), access to human advisors, and on-demand learning for subjects such as investing, career, and money. Ellevest Plus is more costly because it handles retirement accounts for clients. Meanwhile, Ellevest Executive handles both retirement accounts and investment management for multiple goals. The company also offers private wealth management services for clients who wish to invest USD 1 million or more through the platform. A dedicated advisor will work together with clients to create investment plans to meet their goals.Ellevest reported assets under management (AUM) of USD 1.4 billion as of December 2021, growing 44% during the year.In April 2022, Ellevest raised USD 53 million in Series B <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9622?industryIds=28">funding </a>co-led by BMO and Contour Venture Partners. The company planned to use the funds to expand its product offering and provide personalized coaching.

Ellevest

ComposedPro is a digital investment advisor that handles clients’ investment accounts at their employers (such as employer-sponsored accounts) as well as private investment accounts, focusing on low cost Employer-Coordinated Portfolios. The company oversees USD 25 million in total assets over 181 customer accounts as of the company’s Q2 2020 filing. ComposedPro manages half of the company’s accounts on a discretionary basis, meaning an investment advisor has the discretion to make buy and sell decisions for a client’s account. ComposedPro also has 46 non-discretionary accounts totalling USD 7.9 million in assets. The average investment account size is USD 138,222 placed across exchangeable assets such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs), equities, bonds, and options.

ComposedPro

Guideline provides automated investment management services for employer-sponsored retirement accounts. The services also include plan set-up and administration, enrollment and education, recordkeeping, compliance with Retirement Income Security Act, and reporting.As of July 2023, Guideline had assets under management (AUM) of over USD 9 billion and over 350 employees. The company stated that it is the only provider that does not charge plan participants (i.e. employees) with any fees. Guideline charges the employers with a straightforward pricing of one flat fee per participant, in contrast to the asset-based fee model predominant in the industry (i.e. fee is charged on account balances). The standard service has a base fee of USD 49 per month and an additional USD 8 per participant. The standard service includes unlimited phone/email support to both plan participants and employers. For prime service, access to a dedicated account manager is available at a higher base fee of USD 129 and an additional fee of USD 8 per participant. In addition, the company stated that it has a low mutual fund expense ratio, at 0.08%. It purchases mutual funds from Vanguard and other fund providers.Funding and financialsIn June 2021, Guideline raised USD 200 million in funding led by General Atlantic. The company intends to utilize the funding to broaden its 401(k) offerings and introduce new retirement plan solutions.

Guideline

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 Based in Plano, Texas, AssetBuilder is a robo-advisory company that develops investment portfolios based on the Fama/French school of thought, using low-cost active index funds. It has Dimensional Fund Advisors (the eighth largest fund company in the world as of September 2019) as its funding partner. Human advisors are available to provide investing guidance. As of April 2019, the firm’s assets under management (AUM) amounted to USD 765.9 million.
 
 The firm’s business model relies on a fee-only structure, meaning a customer solely pays AssetBuilder to create and manage investments (the company does not receive product-specific commission). The minimum investment for AssetBuilder is USD 50,000 with an asset management fee ranging from 0.24% to 0.45%; the higher the investment, the lower the fee. Though the firm does not have a setup fee, it requires a custodial cost for setting up a portfolio of USD 11.95 per trade for each recommended mutual fund. Most of the platform’s portfolios require about 11 to 14 mutual funds, costing about USD 131.45 to USD 167.30 to open an account.
 
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AssetBuilder

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 Based in Canada, Smart Money Invest provides portfolio management services to individual clients, advisors, and employers (such as group saving plans for retirement). Human advisors are available to serve individual investors.
 
 
 The company provides financial tools to develop a long-term financial strategy by calculating net worth, setting a budget, managing investment accounts, and planning for retirement.
 
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Smart Money Invest

Leverages AI/ML to automate allocation and management of investment funds to cater to retail investors

Operates a B2B SaaS model to support financial institution in offering various investment related services

Robo advisory startups that offer automated investment services directly to individuals solely via digital platforms.

Startups that offer online platforms for investors to trade various securities such as stocks, ETFs, and options directly via the platform

Stash

EdTech: K-12

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Recent Updates

Monthly News Summary (October 2023)

Stash raises USD 40 million in funding through convertible note

Stash Financial raises USD 52.6 million in debt financing

Stash Financial raises USD 52.6 million in debt financing

Stash acquires PayGrade

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