Toronto-based FinTech giant Wealthsimple has acquired the team behind San Francisco-based wealth management platform Plenty for an undisclosed amount.
Luk and Allen join Wealthsimple’s product team, while their three software developers join the engineering team.
Plenty, a three-year-old startup co-founded by married couple Emily Luk and Channing Allen, offers a platform designed to help couples navigate financial decisions together, from budgeting to long-term investing. The company has raised around $7.75 million USD (about $10.98 million CAD) across its pre-seed and seed rounds, counting Montréal-headquartered venture capital firm Inovia Capital as its first backer, according to a LinkedIn post by Luk.
Plenty, which will shut down on May 10, let couples manage finances on one platform by putting joint and private accounts side-by-side. The platform also featured tools that factored in breakups and new partners.
Plenty’s team of five are joining Wealthsimple at the end of April and will work remotely from the United States, a Wealthsimple spokesperson told BetaKit in an email statement. Luk will be joining Wealthsimple’s product team, while Allen and their three software developers join the engineering team.
The company added that Plenty’s expertise complements its expansion of products for couples and families, such as joint accounts, spousal RRSP and RESP accounts, and householding for its Premium and Generation tier users.
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“They have built an incredible product focused on improving the financial lives of families — an area we’ve been investing in,” Wealthsimple vice president of product Tim Kalimov said in a statement. “Their expertise in this space makes them a natural fit for Wealthsimple, and we’re excited to bring their insights and innovation into what we’re building.”
Plenty CEO Luk, who calls herself a second-generation Canadian in her LinkedIn profile and graduated from the University of Toronto, previously worked in developing strategy at American FinTech giant Stripe and was the vice president of strategy at FinTech startup Even, which was acquired by Walmart in 2022. It was at Even where Luk met Plenty CTO Allen, who served as the startup’s technical lead, got engaged, and got the idea to start Plenty, according to TechCrunch.
“Emily and I started Plenty because we believe that every family should have the tools necessary to manage and grow their finances, built by a company that actually has your back,” Allen said in a LinkedIn post announcing the acquisition. “This belief turned into a product, team, and mission that resonated far beyond our own story.”
Feature image courtesy Wealthsimple.