Launched in the UK in 2017 by former TransferWise staffer Victor Trokoudes and Alex Michael of TicTail, Plum uses AI to automate key parts of personal finance for its two million users, such as automated savings, bill switching and investing.

The firm has raised $19.3m to date, with the last funding round in July 2020 with major investors Global Brain, the EBRD and Venture Friends. Plum, which has been backed by LendInvest’s Christian Faes for previous rounds, is also mustering support from Truelayer’s CEO & co-founder Francesco Simoneschi and ComplyAdvantage’s CEO & founder Charles Delingpole.

Plum is returning to the crowd following a solid showing in 2021 with registered customer numbers on track for 2.5m by the end of the year. The company has seen +240% growth in assets under management year-on-year since June 2020, reflecting the boom in savings and investing during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Like other fintechs, the company is working hard to convince investors of its sustainability and profit-making potential, introducing a £4.99 subscription tier, Plum Ultra, in May and a host of subscription-only features which have helped to push revenue up by 189% year-on-year.

The expanded product roll out has been augmented by continental expansion to markets in France, Spain and Ireland and the opening of a new European base in Nicosia. The company has set its sights on further international growth in 2022 with plans to launch in Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands and Belgium.

In the works for the remainder of 2021 are the launch of the company's first stock investing product and ongoing development of a Plum payment card.

Victor Trokoudes comments: “Crowdfunding played a key part in Plum’s success in the early days. Back then, Plum was a simple chatbot. The past few years have all been about validating our business model and realising our vision for a financial super app. Now, we’re ready to scale.”