Latest news with #ForerunnerVentures
TechCrunch
12-06-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Automattic acquires relationship manager Clay to add an identity layer to online tools
After acquiring universal messaging apps Beeper and owner Automattic has added another communication-focused startup to its lineup: relationship-management app Clay. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Clay had so far raised over $9 million in venture capital from investors like General Catalyst and Forerunner Ventures. The tool will continue to be supported and will later be integrated with other Automattic products, like Beeper. Clay's software, launched in 2021, is something of a smarter address book or personal CRM, letting users organize the people they know and keep up with their latest updates by pulling in data from services like LinkedIn, Facebook, WhatsApp and X, as well as address books and calendars. Image Credits:Clay You can use the app to keep up with things you want to know about people, like job changes, relocations, updated bios, recent social posts, and more. Clay also lets you add notes to address book entries, so you can note how and when you met, or the names of their kids, for instance. A timeline for each entry shows when notes were added, the last time you reached out, and other times you engaged. The app later built in AI, adding an AI helper called Nexus that lets you ask questions about your network, like who you know at a particular company, or who you should connect with when visiting New York. Beyond that, the AI bot is meant to integrate with your daily workflow. As part of the acquisition, which closed last week, Clay's small team, including its co-founders Zachary Hamed and Matthew Achariam, is joining Automattic. 'Our mission […] is to help with relationships and increase conscientiousness,' Achariam said. 'That's always been our North Star, and all the features […] reinforce that by bringing these different aspects of relationship management into one platform and one tool.' Image Credits:Clay Automattic said it made sense to buy Clay because of its ability to be integrated into the company's broader ecosystem, which today includes the universal chat app Beeper (a merger of the and Beeper acquisitions). Clay's founders, meanwhile, have a sense of a shared mission with Automattic, and appreciate that they'll get to continue to develop their app. (Often, smart address book startups are eaten up by their acquirer and then sadly wound down.) 'We are very excited about the longevity aspect of this,' said Hamed. 'We believe that this should be something that exists beyond, like, any one company,' he added. For Clay, the long-term plan at Automattic includes integrating with Beeper, and ultimately becoming an identity layer for a variety of different tools. Those plans are not finalized, however, nor could Automattic commit to a time frame for that progress. It also wouldn't share if Clay's pricing is due to change in the future. Currently, the service is a freemium offering, with its paid plans starting at $10 per month, or $40 per seat, per month for teams. Clay's founders said they believe their values are similar to Automattic's, which is why the deal made sense. 'One of their main ethos is this idea of open source, and the idea that that's one of the most powerful forces of our lifetimes. And we tend to agree,' said Achariam. Clay's team is also interested in integrating with other open technologies going forward, like ActivityPub, used by Mastodon, and AT Protocol, used by Bluesky. Clay didn't share any numbers about its userbase, but it did say that its app manages over 150 million relationships. The app is available on macOS, Windows, iOS, and web.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Monarch secures $75m to expand financial wellness platform
Monarch, a personal finance application, has garnered $75m in a Series B funding round, aiming to speed up its goal of taking financial wellness to the masses. The investment round was jointly led by FPV Ventures and Forerunner Ventures, with participation from existing investors Menlo Ventures, Accel, SignalFire, and Clocktower Ventures. The company plans to use the latest funding to expand its team and platform. In a blog post, Monarch Money Co-founder and CEO Val Agostino said: 'We started Monarch six years ago with a clear but ambitious mission to solve this problem for all households, not just the wealthy. We strongly believe that everyone – no matter where they're starting – can improve their financial situation with the right information, tools, and guidance. 'We are just getting started and have big plans for evolving the Monarch platform on the journey toward unlocking financial wellness for all households.' Monarch's platform offers a comprehensive view of personal finances by connecting with a wide array of financial institutions. This enables users to monitor their financial status through intuitive graphs that display net worth, cash flow, and budget progress over time. Monarch also aids users in tracking their progress against financial goals. The platform also fosters collaboration among partners, spouses, or financial professionals, ensuring that all parties involved can stay informed and work together on financial planning. Moreover, the offering provides personalised financial advice through an advisor feature. In a LinkedIn post, FPV Ventures co-founder and managing partner Wesley Chan said: 'Our investment in Monarch is the first investment out of our new $525M fund to back the next generation of mission-driven founders. It is also the largest initial check FPV has written into any company.' "Monarch secures $75m to expand financial wellness platform" was originally created and published by Retail Banker International, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
