Savings and investing startup Acorns has acquired EarlyBird, an investment gifting platform for families, the company told TechCrunch exclusively. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
As part of the acquisition, EarlyBird will shut down, and all customer accounts will officially close on June 23. Customers’ funds will be returned to the bank account connected to their account.
Founded in 2019, EarlyBird launched a product that combined financial investing with community. The app allowed families and friends to gift investments to children while preserving memories through a digital time capsule. The investments would become the child’s once they turned 18, and they could use funds for things like paying for college, paying a down payment on a home, or for seeding their first business.
“When we founded EarlyBird, we envisioned creating a platform that would transform how families leave lasting legacies for their children,” said EarlyBird CEO and co-founder Jordan Wexler in a statement. “The opportunity to join Acorns not only reaffirms our vision, but expands our impact to millions of families who also care deeply about building their children’s financial futures.”
Wexler and co-founder Caleb Frankel will join the Acorns team to help build out Acorns Early, the startup’s smart money app for kids. Acorns Early offers a debit card designed for kids and teens to help them develop financial literacy and manage their money. The company launched Acorns Early following its acquisition of GoHenry, a startup focused on providing money management and financial education services to 6- to 18-year-olds.
Acorns believes that by bringing on Wexler and Frankel, the company will be able to leverage their experience and passion for the space to enhance Acorns Early.
“Our vision is to build a financial wellness system for the whole family, creating compound growth at every life stage,” Acorns CEO Noah Kerner said in an email to TechCrunch. “The shared experiences and insights between our two teams will enable us to deliver this vision faster and better so that we create maximum value for everyday American families.”
Existing EarlyBird customers will be offered a free one-year subscription to “Acorns Gold,” a plan that offers access to all Acorns products, including Acorns Early. Customers will receive an email detailing the sign-up process.
Acorns notes that EarlyBird users will not be able to transfer their EarlyBird funds over to Acorns Early. If users want to continue their investing journey with Acorns, they need to withdraw their funds from EarlyBird and open a new account with Acorns.
The company plans to integrate EarlyBird’s digital time capsule feature into the Acorns Early app at a later date. On EarlyBird, the feature allowed users to build out time capsules by recording videos at memorable moments in their lives. For example, if a mother received a promotion and wanted to gift a one-time investment to her child, she could record a video talking to her child about it to commemorate and remember the moment.
The acquisition comes as Acorns has doubled its customers on Acorns Gold, its $12 per month subscription plan, over the past year.
“Our Gold Plan will be the place to deliver financial wellness for the whole family — products for parents, kids, and all the connective fabric between the family unit,” Kerner said. “This will be the place where the whole family can manage their money as they grow smart money habits together.”
Acorns raised $300 million in March 2022 and was valued at $2 billion at the time. The company did not provide an updated valuation.
Aisha is a consumer news reporter at TechCrunch. Prior to joining the publication in 2021, she was a telecom reporter at MobileSyrup. Aisha holds an honours bachelor’s degree from University of Toronto and a master’s degree in journalism from Western University.
