A little spare change squirreled away hardly seems the best visual for five-year-old automated advice platform, or so-called "robo advisor," Acorns anymore. WealthManagement.com saw news of the startup’s latest $105 million in private equity funding through the outlet of one of its latest investors, CNBC, which is owned by NBCUniversal, in turn owned by Comcast. This latest round follows a $50 million investment by BlackRock in May 2018.
In addition to the equity investment, a strategic partnership with Comcast-owned CNBC was announced Monday, which will produce original content for and with Acorns and the startup’s separate content and educational site called Grow. According to CNBC’s story/announcement, the larger company will team up with Acorns “on articles, videos and eventually live conferences with the aim of increasing financial literacy.”
The latest funding makes NBCUniversal Acorns’ biggest shareholder and that gets the broadcast giant a seat on the Acorns board, which will be filled by CNBC Chairman Mark Hoffman.