Clove exits stealth with $14M pre-seed led by Accel

London-based Clove, a new challenger in personal finance and wealth management, has emerged from stealth with a $14 million pre-seed round led by Accel. The round also saw participation from Kindred Capital, Air Street Capital, and angels, including Barney Hussey-Yeo (Cleo), Patrick Pichette (via Inovia Capital), Erez Mathan (GoCardless), and Gideon Valkin (ex-Monzo, ClearScore).

The FCA estimates that people who receive financial advice may be up to 10 per cent wealthier in subsequent years than those who do not. To narrow the advice gap and support market growth, it has introduced regulatory changes to encourage investment and innovation.

In the UK, 13 million mass-affluent individuals hold £3.8 trillion in investable assets, including more than 3.7 million open to professional advice with over £50,000 to invest; a further 7 million adults with £10,000+ in cash savings may be missing out on long-term investing benefits.

Clove is building a financial institution for how people live and work today, aiming to make money management and advice accessible, affordable, and personal. The company combines human advisers with AI to scale high-quality, personalised guidance and automate administrative work, helping to close the advice gap.

Co-founder and CPO Alex Loizou said everyone should have access to high-quality financial advice. He added that Clove aims to reshape the economics of advice by combining human expertise with AI to make planning more accessible, affordable, and effective for young professionals, entrepreneurs, growing families, and those beginning to plan for retirement.

Clove will use the pre-seed funding to expand its team and platform ahead of a planned full launch in 2026, subject to FCA authorisation.