CapitalG, the growth equity subsidiary of internet and technology conglomerate Alphabet, has led a $50m series B round for US-based financial automation platform developer Albert.
The round also featured existing investors that, according to the Wall Street Journal, included American Express Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of payment services firm American Express, as well as Portag3 Ventures and QED Investors.
Albert has built a personalised online advice service where users can chat with experts about their money, set up automatic savings accounts, create financial plans, monitor their financial health and invest through an automated tool called Portfolio by Genius.
The company also offers users the ability to receive a cash advance against their wages. It charges $4 a month but leaves it up to customers to pay what they feel is a fair price beyond that minimum. The funding will enable it to expand its automation capabilities across more financial products.
The company closed a $12.1m round in March 2019, according to a securities filing, having secured $5m in a May 2018 series A round featuring American Express Ventures, QED Investors and Portag3. It had raised $4.3m in convertible note financing the year before.
Financial services consultancy Financial Health Network (then known as Center for Financial Services Innovation, or CFSI) contributed to Albert’s $2.5m seed round in November 2016, investing with Bessemer Venture Partners, 500 Startups, 500 Fintech and unnamed other backers.
CFSI had provided $250,000 in funding for Albert in June 2016 when the company emerged as one of the winners of its Financial Solutions Lab competition, though it is unclear whether that represented its contribution to the subsequent seed round.
