Mylo Raises $2.5 Million Seed Fund to Invest in Change

January 9, 2018

We could all use a little change.

Mylo Financial Technologies has announced they have closed a $2 million seed funding round. The Montreal-based fintech startup is based on the premise of having its users round up their purchases and invest the spare change. Another $500,000 worth of seed capital will close in the coming months.

The seed round included participation from Desjardins Capital, Robert Raich, and founding investor Ferst Capital Partners. The new funding will help Mylo scale their operations and further develop backend technology to become an AI-driven financial manager.

“We’re focused on building the next generation of innovative technology, using AI in conjunction with financial data, to help Canadians improve all aspects of their financial lives,” said Philip Barrar, CEO and Founder of Mylo.

Mylo is a company designed to help Canadians begin investing, even if they only have one dollar. Spare change is rounded up on a purchase then put into a diversified and personalized portfolio of exchange-traded funds. During the onboarding process, users set an investment goal—for example, saving for a house or a car—then get updates as to how far they have come. Users can also make one-time investments into the account.

So far, Mylo has helped Canadians save and invest over $1 million by rounding up over 1.6 million daily purchases.

“We’re excited about how fintech solutions like Mylo can help respond to the financial needs of Canadians,” said Jacques Perreault, AVP of technological innovations at Desjardins. “Mylo is making investing easy for all Canadians, regardless of the size of their paycheque or the amount they can afford to set aside, and we’re invested in the idea that everyone can and should be saving for their goals.”

According to recent stats, more than half of millennials have less than $1,000 in their bank accounts, and even though four in five Ontario millennials are concerned with saving, only one in two are investing. Mylo is a fintech entering a space geared towards those who don’t have any investing experience but want a streamlined way to save their money. The company launched their mobile app in the middle of last year.

Mylo also acquired Tactex Asset Management and its client assets of over $100 million last year.