Brian Barnes, the Founder and CEO at M1 Finance, notes that he’s pleased to confirm the company’s $150 million Series E round, led by Softbank’s Vision Fund 2 along with participation from existing investors.
M1 Finance‘s latest investment round brings the company’s valuation to $1.45 billion, “officially making us a fintech unicorn.”
Barnes stated:
“This milestone would not be possible without our customers entrusting us with their hard-earned money, our teammates devoting their time and energy to the cause, or our investors giving us the resources to pursue our vision. To all, thank you!”
Barnes further noted that not too long ago, M1 was simply an idea just a few people (including him) were working on around his kitchen table. He added that they’ve now become a leading personal finance platform “quickly approaching $5 billion in assets under management.”
The M1 Finance team has grown to more than 250 people, all “focused on our mission: to empower personal financial well-being.”
The resources available to M1 Finance have changed, however, the Fintech firm’s plan has not, Barnes clarified while adding that they have been “singularly focused on building” the following: “a holistic wealth-building platform made for the modern era, uniting personal perspective and automated ease.”
As noted by the company CEO:
“We are building M1 to be a place where you go to manage your personal finances, not just one component of them. Your personal finances are how you Spend, Invest, and Borrow money, and each one is interconnected. We should be able to analyze your Spend to help you cut back where you want so you can Invest more.”
He added that we can use Invest to provide lower cost and more flexible ways to Borrow. He also noted that “by bringing everything together in one platform, we aim to offer you an experience you could never replicate with a finance folder on your phone full of point solution apps.”
He also mentioned:
“Consumer applications everywhere have gone through a renaissance, and it’s about time the personal finance experience caught up. We want to digitize that personal bank experience and deliver it to you in an intuitive, easy to use, and low-cost app. The M1 account of the future should feel like you have a mini-CFO in your pocket, accessible to you whenever and however you want.”
He pointed out that the the notion of a “one-size-fits-all solution” for personal finance makes “no sense.” Instead, the company is creating solutions at M1 that aim to support “a flexible platform so you can personalize your unique financial plan. M1 should feel as though it was uniquely designed for you.”
He also noted that the M1 account “automatically directs every dollar that comes onto the platform to where it can be best used for you.” He explained that the “beneficial behavior happens by default, without you having to lift a finger.”
He also shared:
“Over the last year and a half, we’ve been fortunate to raise over $300 million from top-tier investors like Left Lane Capital, Coatue, and now SoftBank. During that time, we’ve increased both headcount and assets under management more than fivefold. We’ve made significant progress in strengthening the company. But truthfully, we’ve only spent a small fraction of the money raised and it has come in faster than our ability to effectively put it to work.”
He confirmed:
“We are now sitting on a significant amount of capital and we plan to aggressively invest it into the company. Every dollar we have will be put to work on creating the platform described above. You should feel the benefit through refinement to the existing product, new features, better support, and more helpful information across every M1 interaction.”
Barnes further revealed that in the next few weeks, they will be announcing their latest product.