Betterment is an automated investment service that offers financial guidance and portfolio building services to users across the US. It was founded in 2008 to help people make smart decisions about money and reduce financial stress. Since then, the company has experienced significant growth, allowing it to secure more funding and expand its services even further. In its most recent funding round, Betterment raised $60 million in growth funding, representing one of its largest fundraisings yet.
This guide provides a detailed overview of Betterment’s fund-raising history from its 2008 inception until now. Each milestone will be addressed along with the various rounds of financing that took place during each stage of the company’s development. The impact these investments have had on Betterment’s growth trajectory will also be covered.
Betterment’s Funding History
Betterment, a leading automated investing service, has raised over $600 million in funding since its inception. In its most recent round of funding, Betterment raised $60 million in growth capital. This funding round has brought its total funding to over $600 million and solidifies its position as an industry leader.
Let’s look at Betterment’s funding history and analyze how it has continued to grow and evolve over the years.
Series A Funding (2013)
Betterment’s Series A Funding was led by Menlo Ventures in 2013, and was the first round of venture capital funding. The round raised $3 million. The investment was used to build out their growing engineering team, expand customer support, and increase marketing efforts aimed at spreading the word of their collection of easy-to-use, automated investing products.
Following Series A, Betterment has closed rounds B (led by Francisco Partners) in 2015 that raised $32 million; Series C (led by Ant Financial, ICONIQ Capital and others) in 2017 that raised an additional $70 million; Series D (led by Kinnevik and Sweden-based banking giant Swedbank Robur) in 2018 that raised an additional $40 million; Series E (led by Goldman Sachs Investment Partners), also in 2018, which brought up the total invested to date to $275 million with this latest funding round totaling $60 million.
Series B Funding (2015)
In July 2015, Betterment raised $60 million in Series B funding from Cox Enterprises and Francisco Partners. The new round of financing brought the total investment in the company to over $105 million. According to Betterment CEO Jon Stein, the new capital would be invested in product innovation, customer experience and advancing partnerships with other institutions in the financial services sector.
The additional funding allowed Betterment to expand their investments to include international stocks, municipal bonds and a greater range of ETFs. Betterment also saw tremendous growth during this period, surpassing more than one billion dollars in customer assets.
Series C Funding (2017)
In 2017, Betterment completed its Series C round, raising $60 million in growth funding from Shinhan Financial Group, Bessemer Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures and Francisco Partners. This brought the company’s total funding to $205 million. The company received an additional $2 million investment in 2018 from investors, including Darsana Capital and Third Point Ventures.
This funding round helped Betterment expand by developing new technologies, such as automated artificial intelligence (AI)-driven financial advisors and a mobile-friendly platform. In addition, the company leveraged the investment to develop new products such as Reserve Savings, allowing users to save for goals with greater security than a traditional savings account while earning higher interest rates than many banks offer.
The success of this round enabled Betterment’s growing customer base to access products and services at a lower cost, helping them save for retirement or other important goals faster than ever before. Additionally, it strengthened their corporate partnerships by allowing collaboration with innovative entities such as Shinhan Bank.
Series D Funding (2019)
In February 2019, Betterment announced that it had raised $60 million in its Series D funding round. This brought the company’s total funding to $205 million. Kinnevik, a Swedish investment firm, led the round. Also participating in the round was Bessemer Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, Pine Brook and Security Life Sciences.
This new round of funding enabled Betterment to accelerate its growth and enable the company to focus on reinventing personal finance for modern times. As part of these plans, Betterment also announced its intention to expand into insurance later that year.
Following this announcement, CEO Jon Stein stated “Our mission is to give people access to financial advice when and where they need it so they can do something better with their money.” He noted that this new funding would help them realize their vision.
Betterment Raises $60M in Growth Funding
In June 2020, Betterment announced a growth funding round of $60 million from its existing investors, including Menlo Ventures, Bailey Capital and Citi Ventures.
This is the fifth round of investment for the company, which has raised $364 million since its founding in 2008.
This funding round will allow Betterment to further develop its platform and expand its user base.
Overview
Betterment, a leading digital financial advisor and automated investing platform, has announced the completion of its $60 million Series E funding round backed by investors including Tribeca Venture Partners. This funding will enable Betterment to continue innovating and growing its portfolio of services designed to help customers navigate the complexities of personal finance while achieving their long-term financial goals.
The company launched in 2010 as an online service that provides personalized investment advice and helps customers easily manage savings, investments and retirement plans. Today, Betterment offers a comprehensive suite of services that includes digital advice with tax coordination, financial planning resources and proprietary portfolio models.
By leveraging these digital tools and aggregating customer data points into an effective risk management strategy, Betterment has been able to provide a comprehensive approach to improving access to affordable financial services while maintaining high-quality standards for customer service – from helping people pay off debt more quickly or easily manage their cash flow needs. This funding round brings the total amount raised by Betterment over its nine-year history to more than $200 million. It will be used to further extend its leadership position in innovative wealth management solutions.
Investors
In 2020, Betterment raised $60 million in a growth funding round led by venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners, with contributions from existing investors including Antheus Capital and Francisco Partners. Additional existing company investors include Franklin Templeton Investments, Norwest Venture Partners and Highline Ventures.
The money will further develop Betterment’s offering in its core retail and institutional businesses. In addition to adding more tools for customers to access retirement planning services, Betterment is also looking to hire executive leaders and expand their engineering research team. In addition, scaling their product will provide customers with tailored insights and advice on managing their savings, supporting the company’s mission of making financial planning easy for all customers.
Impact on Betterment
The $60M in growth funding that Betterment recently secured will allow the company to deepen their commitment to financial education and technology innovation. The money raised from venture capital firms SignalFire, Kinnevik AB, Capsica VC, and DST Global will help Betterment expand into new markets and develop its suite of investment tools.
Furthermore, this additional fundraising round brings the startup’s total funding up to $390M since its launch in 2008. This new funding allows Betterment to compete alongside well-established fintech rivals like Charles Schwab, Wealthfront, and Robinhood.
The additional financing also means that investors now value Betterment at more than $1 billion – a mark that less than one percent of consumer finance startups achieve. It also signifies a much-needed reprieve for the financial services industry struggling due to decreased consumer spending during the pandemic.
Securing such an impressive round of funding demonstrates how strong investor confidence is in Betterment despite an uncertain economic climate. The funds will be used for continued product development, expanding operations outside of the US into global markets, boosting marketing efforts, and increasing hiring initiatives — all helping drive their core mission of increasing financial literacy worldwide.
Conclusion
Betterment’s growth funding history has been a series of successful investment rounds by venture capital firms, mutual funds and strategic individual investors. This $60M round solidifies the company’s future growth and expansion of the Betterment platform. It is also a powerful signal to investors that the business model is sound, and that there is still room in the financial industry for disruptive innovators like Betterment.
For its customers, this latest round of funding signals that Betterment will continue to bring them technological advancement and groundbreaking financial products to further improve their investments. Both current and prospective customers now have greater confidence that their deposits are in good hands as new features keep rolling out monthly.
Overall, Varys Capital’s investment in Betterment reinforces how competitive and unique the startup’s offering must be compared to traditional finance companies if even an asset management giant such as Varys Capital invests in it. With this influx of extra capital, it will be interesting to see what innovative products Betterment develops over the coming months/years as they disrupt traditional investing even further.
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