Monarch Raises $75 Million

Introduction to Monarch

Monarch co-founders (left to right) Ozzie Osman, Jon Sutherland, Val Agostino.
Courtesy: Monarch
The personal finance startup Monarch has raised $75 million to accelerate subscriber growth that took off last year when budgeting tool Mint was shut down, CNBC has learned.

Fundraising and Valuation

The fundraising is among the largest for an American consumer fintech startup this year and values the San Francisco-based company at $850 million, according to co-founder Val Agostino. The Series B round was led by Forerunner Ventures and FPV Ventures.

Mission and Objective

Monarch aims to provide an all-in-one mobile app for tracking spending, investments and money goals. The field was once dominated by Mint, a pioneer in online personal finance that Intuit acquired in 2009. After the service languished for years, Intuit closed it in early 2024.
"Managing your money is one of the big unsolved problems in consumer technology," Agostino said in a recent Zoom interview. "How American families manage their money is still basically the same as it was in the late 90s, except today we do it on our phones instead of walking into a bank."

Growth and Expansion

Monarch, founded in 2018, saw its subscriber base surge by 20 times in the year after Intuit announced it was closing Mint as users sought alternatives, according to Agostino.
Unlike Mint, which was free, Monarch relies on paying subscribers so that the company doesn’t need to focus on advertising from credit-card issuers or sell users’ data, said Agostino, who was an early product manager at Mint.

Competitive Advantage

Personal finance app Monarch, which has raised a $75 million series B investment.
Courtesy: Monarch
The startup aimed to make onboarding accounts and expense tracking easier than rival tools, some of which are free or embedded within banking apps, according to FPV co-founder Wesley Chan.
Chan said that Monarch reminds him of previous bets that he has made, including his stake in graphic design platform Canva, in that Agostino is tackling a difficult market with a fresh approach.
"What Val is doing, it’s the successor to anything that’s been done in financial planning," Chan said. "It’s frictionless, it’s easy to use and it’s easy to share, which is something that never existed before. That’s why he’s growing so quickly, and why the engagement numbers are so high."

Market Trends

The company’s round comes amid a period of muted interest for most U.S. fintechs that cater directly to consumers. Monarch is one of the few firms to raise a sizeable Series B; other recent examples include Felix, a money remittance service for Latino immigrants.
Fintech firms raised $1.9 billion in venture funding in the first quarter, a 38% decline from the fourth quarter that "signals deepening investor caution toward B2C models," according to a recent PitchBook report. Roughly three-quarters of all the venture capital raised in the quarter went to companies in the enterprise fintech space, PitchBook said.
"The sector is still in nuclear winter" as it faces a hangover from 2021-era startups that "raised way too much money and had zero progress and wrecked it for everybody else," Chan said. "That’s fine with me, I love nuclear-winter sectors."

Conclusion

Monarch’s successful fundraising and growing subscriber base demonstrate the company’s potential to revolutionize personal finance management. With its user-friendly mobile app and focus on paying subscribers, Monarch is well-positioned to succeed in a market where traditional players have struggled to adapt to changing consumer needs.

FAQs

Q: What is Monarch, and what does it offer?
A: Monarch is a personal finance startup that provides an all-in-one mobile app for tracking spending, investments, and money goals.
Q: How much did Monarch raise in its Series B funding round?
A: Monarch raised $75 million in its Series B funding round, which values the company at $850 million.
Q: What is the current state of the fintech industry, and how does Monarch fit into it?
A: The fintech industry is currently experiencing a period of muted interest, with many consumer-facing startups struggling to raise funding. Monarch is one of the few firms to raise a sizeable Series B, and its focus on paying subscribers sets it apart from other players in the market.
Q: Who led Monarch’s Series B funding round?
A: Monarch’s Series B funding round was led by Forerunner Ventures and FPV Ventures.
Q: What is the significance of Monarch’s growth, and how does it compare to other fintech startups?
A: Monarch’s growth is significant because it demonstrates the company’s ability to attract and retain subscribers in a competitive market. Monarch’s focus on user experience and its willingness to charge for its services set it apart from other fintech startups that rely on advertising or data sales.