Betterment

Betterment is an automated investment adviser, often called a robo-adviser, offering diversified portfolios, retirement accounts, cash and checking products, 401(k) plans for small and midsize businesses, and custody services for independent advisers. Jon Stein and Eli Broverman founded it in 2008 in New York, where it is headquartered on West 33rd Street. It is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser and its broker-dealer is a FINRA member. Sarah Levy has been chief executive since December 2020, when she succeeded Stein.

Betterment financed its growth over a long sequence of venture rounds before its most recent disclosed raise. In September 2021 it announced $160 million of growth capital: a $60 million Series F equity round led by Treasury, plus a $100 million credit facility from ORIX Corporation USA's Growth Capital group and Runway Growth Capital. Existing investors Kinnevik, Bessemer Venture Partners, Francisco Partners, Menlo Ventures, Anthemis Group, Globespan Capital Partners, Citi Ventures and The Private Shares Fund participated, and Aflac Ventures and ID8 Investments joined as new investors. The round valued the company at $1.3 billion. Amounts and leads for the earlier Series A through E rounds are not itemized here because they were not confirmed in the sources fetched.

Betterment has grown largely by consolidating other firms' digital advice books. It took on Wealthsimple's US advisory accounts in 2021, bought crypto portfolio manager Makara and Gradvisor's relationships in February 2022, acquired Goldman Sachs' Marcus Invest accounts in April 2024 and Ellevest's automated investing business in February 2025. Its own site reports more than $70 billion of assets under management as of May 2026 and more than 1 million customers as of August 2026. The company remains private and has not announced an IPO.

Betterment shows how long a consumer fintech can stay private. Eighteen years after founding, its backers, including Bessemer, Menlo and Anthemis from earlier rounds, have no public exit, and the last priced round at $1.3 billion dates to 2021. The recent strategy, absorbing accounts from banks and rivals exiting robo-advice, suggests that scale in assets under management rather than new venture capital has driven growth since that round.