Cleo

What Cleo does

The company makes money through a freemium subscription model with a paid premium tier, interchange and other transaction fees on the WebBank-issued Cleo Card, and net interest margin on user savings. It pursues a product-led growth go-to-market with self-serve onboarding via iOS and Android app stores, supported by PR, content, and organic social leveraging its distinctive brand voice. As of November 2024 Cleo reported $150M ARR with a stated target of surpassing $250M annually, and it has raised $124M+ in disclosed venture funding (notably an $80M round in June 2022 and a $44M round in February 2025) to reach a valuation above $1B. Key dependencies are bank-linking infrastructure (Plaid), partner banks (WebBank, Thread Bank), and app-store distribution, while the principal risk is active 2025 class-action litigation under the Military Lending Act and Truth in Lending Act targeting its earned-wage-access product.

Name

Cleo

Legal name

Cleo AI Ltd.

Website

https://meetcleo.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Cleo is a UK-based consumer fintech that operates an AI-powered conversational financial assistant for Gen Z and Millennials, offering budgeting, automated savings, credit building, and a WebBank-issued card via iOS and Android apps, primarily in the US with a 2026 UK relaunch.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Personal Finance Management

NAICS

Activities Related to Credit Intermediation (5223), Other Activities Related to Credit Intermediation (522390)

SIC

Personal Credit Institutions (6141), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

BNPL Consumer Apps & Wallets (Discovery, Management) (FSAGAIAG)

Keywords

• AI financial assistant
• Personal finance management
• Money management app
• Budget tracking tool
• Credit building

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Premium Subscription: Cleo offers a freemium model with premium subscription tiers providing advanced features. The company reports over 1 million paid subscribers target with revenue expectations surpassing $250 million annually.
2. Cleo Card: The Cleo Card is issued by WebBank and likely generates revenue through interchange fees on transactions made with the card.
3. Savings Interest: Users can commit to savings goals and earn high interest on savings through the platform, potentially generating interest spread revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Cleo provides an AI-powered conversational financial assistant delivered through iOS and Android apps that analyzes user spending, delivers personalized budgeting advice, and helps individuals improve their financial health. The platform operates on a freemium model with premium subscription tiers and integrates with users' bank accounts via Plaid for real-time transaction monitoring, automated savings, credit building, and personality-driven engagement features (Roast Mode, Hype Mode).

Product overview

Cleo is a financial technology company offering an AI-powered financial assistant platform. The core product is the Cleo AI assistant, which uses conversational AI to analyze spending, provide personalized financial advice, and help users improve their financial health. The platform operates on a freemium model with premium subscription tiers. Key modules include: Autopilot for automated long-term financial planning; Cleo Card for spending management; Money IQ for enhanced financial insights; and Savings for automated goal-based saving. The product integrates with users' bank accounts via Plaid for real-time transaction analysis and offers gamified features like Roast Mode and Hype Mode to engage younger users.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cleo Card: A financial card product offered in partnership with Thread Bank and WebBank for credit building purposes.
• Cleo Autopilot
• Cleo 3.0
• Cleo Money IQ

Products and services

• Cleo AI-powered financial assistant that analyzes spending, provides personalized budgeting advice, and helps users improve their financial health through conversational AI with personality, including Roast Mode and Hype Mode.
• Cleo Card Financial card product issued by WebBank, Member FDIC, providing users with a tool for spending and credit building alongside the core AI assistant.
• Autopilot AI-driven automation feature that automates long-term financial planning and routine financial decisions, helping users set savings goals and automatically adjust contributions based on financial situation.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 85% of new users feel better about their finances within a month
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability10 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• PlaidcoreTechnology or IntegrationBank account linking service that connects users' bank accounts to the Cleo app securely. Plaid is described as an API provider that complies with PCI DSS requirements for secure data handling.
• Thread BankcoreOthersProvides Direct Deposit banking services for Cleo users. Thread Bank is Member FDIC.
• WebBankcoreOthersIssues the Cleo Card to eligible users. WebBank is Member FDIC and provides the banking infrastructure for the card product.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Rocket Money: Subscription-based personal finance app focused on subscription cancellation, budgeting, and bill negotiation. Directly comparable to Cleo's premium subscription model, mobile-first experience, and Gen Z/Millennial target.
• Dave: Mobile banking and earned wage access app with subscription fees and cash advances. Comparable to Cleo in target demographic, AI-driven financial guidance, and EWA/cash advance product exposure.
• Albert: AI-powered mobile banking and financial wellness app with subscription tiers, savings automation, and early wage access. Directly competes with Cleo for Gen Z/Millennial users seeking automated money management.
• Empower: Personal finance app offering automated budgeting, savings, and wealth tracking with premium subscription. Closely aligned with Cleo's product positioning and target customer.
• Monarch Money: Subscription-based budgeting and financial planning app competing for the same consumer finance management wallet share. Similar freemium-to-premium motion and demographic focus.
• YNAB (You Need A Budget): Established subscription-based budgeting app with a strong educational and zero-based budgeting methodology. Comparable business model and consumer target, though with less AI-driven automation.

Broad incumbents

• Credit Karma: Large-scale personal finance platform owned by Intuit offering credit monitoring, budgeting, and financial product recommendations. Competes for the same consumers with a broader portfolio of services.
• Intuit Mint: Long-standing personal financial management platform from Intuit offering budgeting, spending tracking, and credit monitoring. An incumbent in Cleo's core budgeting space with significantly greater scale.
• Chime: Large US neobank targeting similar Gen Z/Millennial consumers with fee-free banking, savings, and credit products. Broader incumbent with own banking charter, contrasting Cleo's partner-bank model.

Others

• Plaid: Financial data connectivity infrastructure provider and Cleo's bank-linking technology partner. Adjacent rather than competitive—relevant as a dependency and ecosystem comparator for AI-driven fintech apps.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/meet_cleo
• Facebookfacebook.com/MeetCleo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cleo-ai

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds7 records

Investors10 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cleo