Winnipeg-based startup Conquest Planning, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to provide wealth management solutions, has raised $24 million CAD in all-equity Series A funding from a group of financial market investors.
The round closed in late 2022 and was led by Fidelity International Strategic Investors, which also invested in Conquest’s previous funding rounds. Also returning to invest in Conquest is Portage, joined by new investors BNY Mellon and the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC).
Conquest has raised nearly $35 million CAD in total funding to date, including the $3 million seed round it closed in 2020, as well as a $7.5 million investment round in 2021.
Assets under management in the robo-advisors segment are projected to reach $31.28 billion by 2027.
The investments in this recent round are strategic in nature, as Conquest plans to use the capital to support its ongoing expansion into “key markets,” such as its previously announced expansion plans into the United States and the United Kingdom. Conquest said that Fidelity will help accelerate the former’s entry into the UK market, while Portage will help the Winnipeg startup to “drive strong relationships and growth locally and internationally.”
Conquest added that BNY Mellon is expected to help bolster Conquest’s foothold in the US, while RBC’s contribution is a “testament to Conquest’s market-leading position in Canada.”
Founded in 2018, Conquest provides an AI-powered financial planning platform meant to make personalized wealth management accessible for consumers, including retail investors and high-net-worth families.
A spokesperson for Conquest told BetaKit that the company has started to establish teams in both the US and the UK. Conquest declined to disclose further details for its hiring plans.
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Conquest is part of an emerging industry that uses AI to automate financial planning processes. The sector has become crowded in recent years with financial institutions and startups competing to digitize wealth management products.
Representative of the market’s growth, assets under management by robo-advisors are projected to reach $31.28 billion by 2027.
Several big banks in Canada have launched their own digital solutions for managing investments, including RBC, which launched its robo-advisor platform dubbed ‘InvestEase’ in 2018. BMO launched its own digital portfolio management service in 2016.
Beyond the incumbent players in the financial services space, Canadian startups like Wealthsimple and National Bank-backed Nest Wealth also offer automated investing software.