Montreal-based Mylo — which allows users to round up their purchases and invest the spare change — has raised a $2 million round of seed funding.
The funding was led by Desjardins Capital, Robert Raich, and founding investor Ferst Capital Partners. The company plans to use the money for further product development, investing in becoming a full-service personal financial management platform. Mylo said it is working to secure an additional $500,000 in the next three months.
Since launching in July 2017, Mylo has helped Canadians save and invest over $1 million.
“Investing spare change is just the beginning,” said Philip Barrar, CEO and founder of Mylo. “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. This partnership is a critical milestone in realizing that vision.”
The company’s last funding round was $750,000 from Ferst Capital Partners in May 2017; before that, Mylo $500,000 from the firm at the ideation stage. Mylo acquired Tactex Asset Management in June 2017 so that it could manage its own investment funds.
Users can invest with less than $1, and after setting investment goals, their spare change is invested into a personalized, diversified portfolio of Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). Mylo users can also accelerate their savings by making one-time deposits into their Mylo account, and invested funds can be withdrawn from a user’s account at any time. Since launching in July 2017, Mylo has helped Canadians save and invest over $1 million by rounding up over 1.6 million daily purchases.
“Desjardins Group has been helping Canadians plan their futures for decades. We’re excited about how FinTech solutions like Mylo can help respond to the financial needs of Canadians,” said Jacques Perreault, associate VP of technological innovations at Desjardins Capital. “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.”
