AI-powered fintech chatbot Plum closes $4.5m funding round
Money management chatbot Plum has raised a fresh $4.5m (£3.45m) in funding to bring it to a total raise of $6.3m, it confirmed today.
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VC outfit Venture Friends, along with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), led the funding round for the fintech startup.
Plum also revealed its user base has grown a huge 433 per cent in just one year – from 75,000 users in 2018 to 400,000 this year – as it launches on iOS today.
The chatbot app is also due to launch on Android, and is already available on Facebook Messenger.
Its chatbot advises users on investing anything from as little as £1 in a range of stocks including tech, emerging markets and ethical companies.
The firm predicts it could save users £100m by 2019 and that the average Brit could enjoy an extra £2,000 by saving and optimising bills.
“We’re making an irreversible change in finance, putting consumers firmly back in charge of their own money,” said Victor Trokoudes, chief executive and co-founder.
“While the traditional banking system remains geared towards keeping people in debt, Plum empowers users to easily stay on top of their finances – helping them spend less, save more, switch out of overpriced deals, and invest better than they have before.”
Trokoudes plans to use to funding to expand Plum’s headcount in both London and Athens and to explore new markets.
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The company hopes to use its intelligent chatbot to help people make better saving decisions, with the Office for National Statistics finding that 53 per cent of 22-29-year-old Brits have no savings.