UPDATED 12:04 EDT / JULY 26 2017

APPS

Cleo’s personal-finance bot attracts $2.6M in funding

While most of the consumer-focused players in the financial technology segment are looking to replace traditional banks, Cleo Ltd. has a different target in its sights: those banks’ mobile apps.

The London-based startup, which said today it has secured £2 million ($2.6 million) in funding, offers a chatbot that enables users to manage their finances with natural language commands. Cleo can analyze bank account activity and answer a variety of questions, from what is the balance to how much money has been spent in a given time period. It also can break down the expenses by product or merchant to highlight saving opportunities.

In the same spirit, Cleo packs a number of more advanced features designed to help people better stick to their budgets. The assistant can take the initiative to flag potential anomalies, such as a sudden spike in Uber rides, and point out cases when there’s a cheaper alternative to a product or service that shows up regularly under the spending tab.

Users can also set custom alerts if they’re looking to more actively manage their finances. Cleo provides the ability to set a saving goal and quickly calculate how much money would need to be put aside until the desired sum is reached. From there, the assistant will display a notification whenever there’s a risk of overspending.

Cleo claims to have attracted tens of thousands of users since launching earlier this year. The startup will use today’s investment, which was led by an early-stage British fund LocalGlobe, to develop new features that can further broaden the appeal of its app. Co-founder Barney Hussey-Yeo told TechCrunch that the capital will also go toward fueling international expansion with a particular focus on the U.S., Asia and Australia.

Cleo is the latest addition to a growing list of British startups that have raised funding over recent quarters to shake up traditional banking. Previously, Tide Holdings Ltd. secured $14 million for a service that allows small and midsized firms to quickly open a business account without the hassle normally involved in the process.

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