Sela

What Sela does

Sela.io Incorporated is a UK-registered investment management firm headquartered in London, founded in 2018 by Mark Thornton. The company operates a digital, self-serve investment platform that serves retail investors, high-net-worth individuals, and corporate clients across 27 countries, with a stated base of over 150,000 clients and more than $12.5 billion in cumulative invested capital since inception. Sela structures its offering through four account tiers (Starter, Regular, Retirement, and Corporate) with minimums ranging from $500 to $500,000, and charges a performance-based fee of 0.15%-0.5% applied only to client profits.

The platform is built on three proprietary AI trading systems — DerivAI for derivatives, ChadAI for cryptocurrency, and InterAI for interbank lending — which the company describes as autonomous agents executing trades using machine learning, real-time market data, sentiment analysis, and risk management protocols. Sela supplements its in-house AI with commercial data and analytics integrations from Bloomberg, CoinMarketCap, SAS Institute, Versium, and BoldData, and has struck strategic alliances with McKinsey & Company and BNP Paribas. Account-level access to the AI bots is tiered: Starter and Regular accounts receive limited or DerivAI-only access, while Retirement and Corporate accounts unlock the full bot suite along with 24/7 personal advisor support, monthly compounding, and FSCS protection. The company accepts deposits and withdrawals in ETH, USDC, and BTC alongside traditional rails.

Sela's go-to-market is primarily product-led and digital: customers onboard through sela.io with minimal friction, no disclosed reseller or distribution partners, and rely on content marketing, earned media, and Instagram for top-of-funnel acquisition. The leadership team is composed of executives drawn from Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, BlackRock, J.P. Morgan, Barclays, HSBC, Citibank, Deutsche Bank, and other tier-one financial institutions. A material data-quality caveat applies: the publicly stated monthly return targets of 3-20% per tier and an 11.7% average monthly return across the book are not economically realistic for any systematic trading strategy, which materially limits the credibility of the company's reported scale and outcome metrics.

Name

Sela

Legal name

Sela.io Incorporated

Website

https://sela.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Sela.io is a UK-registered, AI-driven investment management platform offering tiered accounts (Starter, Regular, Retirement, Corporate) backed by three proprietary trading bots — DerivAI, ChadAI, and InterAI — serving over 150,000 retail and corporate clients across 27 countries via a digital self-serve model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Performance-based Management Fees: Sela charges fees only on profits earned through investments. Fee percentages vary by account type: Starter (0.15%), Regular (0.25%), Retirement (0.35%), Corporate (0.5%). This aligns the company's revenue with client outcomes and creates a performance-based revenue model where Sela only earns when clients generate returns.
2. Cryptocurrency Transaction Processing: Sela facilitates cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals for clients using Ethereum (ETH), USDC, and Bitcoin (BTC). While the primary service is investment management, the company processes client cryptocurrency transactions as part of its funding operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

No product or service details were provided in the input source material beyond the company name "Sela".

Product overview

Sela is an AI-powered investment management platform offering four distinct account types (Starter, Regular, Retirement, and Corporate) that collectively manage over $12.5 billion in invested capital across 150,000+ clients in 27 countries. The platform is built around three proprietary AI trading systems: ChadAI for cryptocurrency trading, InterAI for interbank lending operations, and DerivAI for derivatives trading. Account tiers determine access to these AI capabilities, with Starter and Regular accounts having limited DerivAI access, while Retirement and Corporate accounts provide full access to all three AI systems. The platform enables cryptocurrency deposits/withdrawals via ETH, USDC, and BTC, employs weekly/monthly compounding strategies, and is registered in the UK with FSCS protection.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 11.7% average monthly returns on investments for all clients since 2018
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

AI capability6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• BoldDatacoreTechnology or IntegrationBoldData is a leading provider of global business data solutions. Sela partners with BoldData to enhance its data-driven approach to financial analysis and decision-making. Through this partnership, Sela leverages BoldData's comprehensive database of company information to gain valuable insights into market trends, customer behavior, and competitive dynamics.
• VersiumcoreTechnology or IntegrationVersium provides predictive analytics solutions. Sela's partnership with Versium enables cutting-edge predictive modeling and customer segmentation capabilities, enhancing clients' ability to identify and target high-value prospects, optimize marketing campaigns, and maximize ROI.
• SAS InstitutecoreTechnology or IntegrationSAS Institute is a global leader in analytics software and solutions. Sela collaborates with SAS to leverage advanced analytics capabilities for complex data analysis, risk modeling, and predictive modeling, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.
• LinuxcoreTechnology or IntegrationSela has established a strategic partnership with Linux, leveraging the open-source operating system's robust and scalable platform to optimize software development processes and improve the performance and security of financial technology solutions.
• CoinMarketCapcoreTechnology or IntegrationCoinMarketCap is the world's leading cryptocurrency data provider. Sela integrates real-time cryptocurrency market data including prices, trading volumes, market capitalization, and other relevant metrics into its financial analysis and investment management solutions.
• BloombergcoreTechnology or IntegrationBloomberg is a global leader in financial data, analytics, and news. Sela has established a strategic partnership with Bloomberg to enhance its financial services offerings with real-time market intelligence and insights. Bloomberg's extensive suite of financial data, analytics tools, and news feeds are integrated into Sela's platform.
• McKinsey & CompanymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMcKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm. Sela partners with McKinsey to leverage strategic insights and industry expertise in enhancing financial services offerings. Through this collaboration, Sela gains access to McKinsey's research, thought leadership, and best practices in financial services.
• BNP ParibasmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBNP Paribas is a leading global bank with a strong presence in the financial services industry. Through collaboration, Sela leverages BNP Paribas's extensive network, expertise, and resources to enhance financial solutions and provide clients with access to a wide range of banking services including corporate and investment banking, wealth management, and asset management.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Wealthfront: US digital wealth manager offering automated, algorithm-driven portfolio management to retail clients with tiered accounts. Directly comparable in self-serve, performance- and fee-aligned online investment platform targeting mass-affluent and retail investors.
• Betterment: US robo-advisor providing automated, goal-based investment portfolios with tiered pricing to retail and high-net-worth clients. Comparable in digital onboarding, algorithmic asset allocation, and recurring fee-based revenue model.
• Nutmeg: UK-regulated digital wealth manager offering managed portfolios, ISAs and pensions to retail investors via a web platform. Closest geographic and regulatory comparable to Sela's UK-based, FSCS-aligned retail investment offering.
• Moneybox: UK app-based investment and savings platform with Starter, General and Pension accounts targeting retail investors. Comparable tiered account structure, low minimums and self-serve digital onboarding.
• Wealthsimple: Canadian digital wealth manager with managed portfolios, crypto exposure and tiered retail/HNW offerings. Comparable diversified multi-asset digital platform with explicit crypto product and AI-driven portfolio management.
• M1 Finance: US self-directed and automated investment platform with tiered accounts and algorithm-driven rebalancing. Comparable in self-serve investing, tier-based pricing, and automation-led portfolio management.

Emerging players

• Ellevest: Digital wealth platform with goal-based investing and automated portfolios. Comparable in digital-first retail investment onboarding and tiered product; smaller scale and narrower asset-class coverage than Sela.

Broad incumbents

• Interactive Brokers (IBKR): Global multi-asset broker offering derivatives, fixed income, FX, crypto and structured products to retail and professional clients. Comparable multi-asset, derivatives-heavy capability set though distributed as a brokerage rather than managed-portfolio platform.
• eToro: Global multi-asset retail trading and investing platform with social/managed portfolios and crypto offering. Comparable mass-retail, multi-asset, AI-supported investing experience, though execution-oriented rather than purely discretionary management.

Others

• BNP Paribas Wealth Management: Listed as a Sela strategic partner for banking and wealth-management distribution. Comparable wealth-management capability and a potential institutional/distribution counterparty rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses6 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/selainvest
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sela-ai

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Sela