London-founded personal finance management startup Cleo raises $10 million

The UK-based Cleo, a digital finance assistant targeting millennials, has raised $10 million in a round led by Balderton Capital, with participation from LocalGlobe. Founded in 2016, the startup has attracted a total of $15 million and is now set to launch a range of financial products.

Cleo's platform allows users to connect their bank accounts and get personalised insight into their spending data. The interaction with users happens on Facebook Messenger, where Cleo “creates a daily relationship between and their money,” the company stated in a press release.

Currently, Cleo claims to have some 600,00 users across the UK, the US, and Canada, 94 percent of whom are under 35 years of age. The AI-based assistant can set targets, put away savings automatically, and answer budget-related questions.

With the fresh capital injection secured, Cleo is gearing up to work on financial products aimed squarely at the millennials.

“From overdraft fees to credit cards, the traditional range of financial products doesn’t work for this generation,” said Barney Hussey-Yeo, CEO at Cleo. “The model of retail banking is not set up for the people it serves. Cleo’s changing that.”