Nous, which claims to be a pioneering service to help households “face the cost of living crisis,” has acquired $9 million via a seed funding round.
Nous (to rhyme with ‘house’). a London-based Fintech, will use the proceeds to build out its service that helps households “get smart and stay vigilant as they navigate the imminent cost of living crisis.”
As mentioned in a release, UK households are currently dealing with an unprecedented cost of living squeeze “driven by soaring energy prices, increased transportation and fuel costs, rising prices of everyday goods and services, and compounded by increased interest rates and NI tax increases.”
It is now being estimated that the average UK household may be “as much as £3,000 out of pocket in the next 12 months, in the worst squeeze on household incomes for 30 years – a £90bn problem just in the UK.”
Nous’s proprietary tech platform – currently available via mobile, tablet and desktop at http://nous.co – aggregates first and third party data feeds “to power a real-time personalized dashboard of a household’s finances along with actionable insights.”
By monitoring vendor activity, Nous will aim to offer the vigilance “to protect consumers from vendors who would otherwise take advantage of their inattention by hiking prices or levying loyalty taxes.”
Across energy, insurance, mortgages, broadband and other subscriptions, Nous will aim to “save a typical household more than £1,000 a year.”
The more people who join the platform, “the smarter it gets.” As the business scales out of closed beta, this anonymized dataset on vendor activity is used “to train its models so it can progressively automate routine household decisions, such as when to renegotiate a contract or execute a switch to a more optimal service provider that meets a minimum threshold of service quality and reliability.”
Unlike the web 1.0 switching and comparison sites, the firm “has a strict commitment to neutrality.” In order to underwrite its status as a “consumer champion,” rather than making money from advertising or commissions, it will “offer a free dashboard with the option to upgrade to a paid subscription service for its premium automation service.”
The firm’s investment round, led by Mosaic Ventures, included participation from various angel investors, including tech entrepreneurs like Tom Blomfield (co-founder of GoCardless & Monzo), Marc Warner (co-founder & CEO of AI pioneer Faculty.ai), Dan Hegarty (founder & CEO of leading digital mortgage company Habito), among many others.
The founding team of entrepreneurs is joined by a group of experienced engineers, designers and marketing professionals with experience from from firms like Brainlabs, Deliveroo, Disney, Emma, Facebook, Flatfair, GDS, Habito, Just, McKinsey, Ocado, onefinestay, Tandem and Tails.
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