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Startup developing an AI chatbot to help manage your finances raises $700k

Tech firm Cleo, which has developed an AI chatbot that helps users better manage their finances, has raised $700k (approx. £556k) in funding from angel investors.

According to TechCrunch, the startup, which is based in London, has attracted backing from some high-profile individuals, including Skype founder Niklas Zennström, Zoopla’s Alex Chesterman and Wonga co-founder Errol Damelin amongst others.

Founders Barney Hussey-Yeo and Aleksandra Wozniak, both graduates from Entrepreneur First, have been working on their AI-powered chatbot since early last year and went live with the service in April.

Speaking to the Evening Standard in June last year, Hussey-Yeo bemoaned the lack of innovation in the banking sector, which he believes has failed to tap into the requirements and expectations of millenials.

He said: “The banks are just too slow to adapt. It’s not in their business model to help the consumer. Cleo is there to manage your money for you, to do the heavy-lifting.”

The app, which includes integration with virtual assistants such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home, allows users to chat with Cleo via its app or Facebook Messenger to keep track of their finances and monitor spending.

Speaking to TechCrunch today, Hussey-Yeo said that the app’s user base is largely made up of 18-30 year olds, such as graduates and young professionals and that the firm was already planning its own range of financial products.

The funding comes at a time of explosive growth for AI chatbots, with so-called virtual assistants providing support for everything from mortgages to customer support, as advances in AI support increasingly flexible and conversationally competent chatbots.

In statistics released last year, Facebook revealed that there were over 11,000 chatbots currently operating on its Messenger platform, while tech giants Microsoft and Google are both perfecting their own virtual assistants.

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