Savings and investing app Acorns raised $105 million in a Series E funding led by NBCUniversal. As a part of the investment the entertainment giant’s business news TV channel CNBC will create financial literacy content for the startup.
The Series E values the California-based startup at $860 million, reported CNBC, which plays a central role in the strategic partnership.
Besides NBCUniversal and Comcast Ventures, the venture capital arm of NBCUniversal’s parent company, Comcast Corporation, BlackRock, Bain Capital Ventures, TPG’s Rise Fund, DST and MSD Capital participated in the funding round valuing Acorns at $860 million, CNBC said.
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With a joint focus on the importance of educating current and future investors, CNBC will hire a dedicated team to create financial literacy and personal finance content for Acorns platforms.
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In addition, CNBC will produce features for a cross-company financial wellness initiative “Invest in You: Ready. Set. Grow.” that will run across CNBC, NBCUniversal and Comcast platforms. Content production will begin immediately and continue to expand in the weeks ahead.
Launched in 2014, Acorns now claims 4.5 million accounts in the US for its app that automatically rounds up PayPal and debit and credit card purchases and puts the extra cents into stocks and bonds.
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“We aim to put the tools of wealth making in everyone’s hands and this includes helping all Americans grow their money knowledge,” said Noah Kerner, CEO at Acorns. “Collaborating with the powerhouse that is CNBC will take these efforts to entirely new heights for our customers.”
Acorns was founded by Walter and Jeff Cruttenden, and launched on August 26, 2014, to make investing accessible to everyone.
Acorns helps America’s up-and-coming by automatically investing spare change from everyday purchases into diversified ETF portfolios. It also helps these customers grow their knowledge, earn extra money and save for retirement with the launch of Acorns Later, the first automated retirement account, which has welcomed nearly 350,000 investors who have invested $40 million to date.
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