Robo advisor Betterment has reached a Unicorn-level valuation of $1.3 billion after securing $160 million in growth capital comprised of a $60 million Series F equity round and a $100 million credit facility. The Series F round was led by Treasury, with participation from existing investors, including Kinnevik, Bessemer Venture Partners, Francisco Partners, Menlo Ventures, Anthemis Group, Globespan Capital Partners, Citi Ventures, and The Private Shares Fund, as well as new investors Aflac Ventures and ID8 Investments.
The $100 million credit facility was established with ORIX Corporation USA’s Growth Capital group and Runway Growth Capital. ORIX’s Growth Capital group acted as the lead arranger and agent.
Founded over a decade ago, the independent digital advisor offers a suite of automated investing and retirement solutions alongside everyday services for spending and saving.
In March, Betterment acquired the US book of rival Canadian Robo advisor WealthSimple. The deal saw WealthSimple pull out of the US market and gave Betterment about 17,400 additional customers with assets under management of $190 million. At the time of the acquisition, Betterment had 600,000 customers and $28 billion in AUM.
“From day one, Betterment’s mission has been to make people’s lives better with easy-to-use, personalised investment solutions. The record growth and demand for Betterment products and services prove how well we deliver,” said Sarah Levy, Betterment’s CEO. “We’re using these funds to further cement our category leadership with rapid innovation on top of our already differentiated product suite and unique, multi-pronged distribution model that serves retail investors, advisors and small businesses.”
