Micro-investing app Acorns successfully secured $105 million through its Series E funding round, bringing the company’s valuation reportedly up to$860 million. BlackRock, Bain Capital Ventures, TPG’s Rise Fund, DST and Michael Dell’s MSD Capital notably participated in the round.
Founded in 2012, Acorns’ proprietary financial engine allows customers to roundup square change from everyday purchases and invests into professionally managed index funds portfolios.
“Simply connect any credit or debit card and a checking account, then spend money like you normally do to watch your portfolio grow with the market. It’s easy to get started when you can invest any amount, any time with no commissions or minimums.”
NBCUniversal and Comcast Ventures, the venture capital arm of NBCUniversal’s parent company, Comcast Corporation, will be making an equity investment in Acorns as well. Along with the Series E investment round, Acorns has also formed a new media partnership with CNBC, with the media company’s chairman, Mark Hoffman, taking a seat on the Acorns board. Speaking about the partnership, Hoffman stated:
“This partnership with Acorns builds on CNBC’s 30-year commitment to democratizing the financial markets, helping generations invest for their future. We are excited to bring together two brands with this shared social purpose to drive value to our viewers, users and customers.”
CNBC also revealed it will hire a dedicated team to create financial literacy and personal finance content for Acorns platforms. CNBC will produce features for a cross-company financial wellness initiative “Invest in You: Ready. Set. Grow.” that will run across CNBC, NBCUniversal and Comcast platforms. Content production will begin immediately and will notably continue to expand in the weeks ahead. Noah Kerner, CEO at Acorns, then added:
“We aim to put the tools of wealth making in everyone’s hands and this includes helping all Americans grow their money knowledge. Collaborating with the powerhouse that is CNBC will take these efforts to entirely new heights for our customers.”