Latest news with #Lightyear
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Lightyear app launches AI features to make investing less 'expensive, clunky and exclusive'
Investment platform Lightyear has unveiled new artificial intelligence features which it says will help to drive retail investment in the UK. Lightyear, which recently passed $1billion in assets under management, said its new AI tools will help to make UK retail investing 'affordable, simple, and accessible as opposed to expensive, clunky, and exclusive'. It comes as the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has launched a campaign to promote retail investing, while 'targeted support' reforms will come into play next year. Martin Sokk, co-founder and chief executive of Lightyear, told This is Money: 'Retail investing in the UK is still full of friction, and Britain is still a nation of cautious investors, so there's much more to do here. 'We're using AI to bridge the gap, to help people make better-informed investing decisions in real time.' Lightyear on Thursday launched three AI market intelligence tools on its platform, which it says will 'level the playing field' by giving users access to market insights that were previously only accessible to institutional investors. These tools include 'lightning updates', which will send summarised news to a user's portfolio screen when a stock they own or are tracking makes a significant move. The platform has also launched a 'why did it move' feature, which allows users to select any period on a stock's price chart to find out why the price changed at that time, such as due to earnings, sector swings or global events. Investors can also access bull and bear cases for a stock, with both angles drawn from analyst sentiment and certain trusted sources of financial information. Lightyear says it will continue developing its AI capabilities over the next few years, including by adding wealth management options for investors, and that AI was 'integral' to its long-term strategy. Future AI developments could offer portfolio breakdowns and analysis, contextual tax help and what it calls 'self-driving money' - automated money management based on the investor's personal goals. Sokk said: 'AI in the financial sector is not just a phase. Companies that are building with this in mind will be the ones that succeed in the long run.' 'We believe AI will drive a lot of technological progress in the next five to ten years, so it's an integral part of our long-term strategy. 'Our new AI-powered market intelligence tools are just the beginning.' The platform said it has raised $23million in a series B funding round, with the new funds committed to launching its AI suite and further developing its AI offering. The funding was led by European-Japanese VC firm NordicNinja, as well as Superangel and SpecialistVC, as well as Bolt founder and chief executive Markus Villig. Rainer Sternfeld, partner at NordicNinja, said: 'We believe that AI will play a powerful role in every aspect of our future, and the investing sector is not immune to that.' On Thursday Lightyear also launched its platform in Sweden, Denmark and Bulgaria.
CNBC
24-07-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Estonia's tech elite are getting behind a European challenger to Robinhood
Some of the biggest names of Estonia's tech scene are backing Lightyear, a startup looking to become Europe's answer to commission-free trading pioneer Robinhood. Based in London, Lightyear develops an app that lets users invest in a range of over 5,000 stocks, exchange-traded funds and money market funds. It was founded by two former Wise employees, Martin Sokk and Mihkel Aamer, in 2021. The company is set to announce later on Thursday that it has raised $23 million in a new round of funding led by NordicNinja, a Japanese-backed venture capital fund based in Europe. Estonian tech entrepreneur Markus Villig, who co-founded ride-hailing unicorn Bolt has also invested. Lightyear CEO Sokk told CNBC that the firm didn't necessarily need to raise more cash for the business but chose to do so because of the caliber of investors involved. "People like Markus have been building massive companies in many, many markets, and this is something that's really exciting for us because it's so hard to go into all the markets and understand their local dynamics and what people need," he said. Lightyear currently operates in 25 countries. However, with help from angel investors like Bolt's Villig, the firm will be able to launch in another five markets "pretty quickly," Sokk said. Villig told CNBC that it can be "challenging to scale a business across multiple countries in a heavily regulated sector," adding that Europe's less developed retail investing market provides ample opportunities for disruption. Other Estonian angel investors who have previously backed Lightyear also participated in the funding round, including Wise co-founder Taavet Hinrikus, former Chief Technology Officer Ott Kaukver and Skype founding engineer Jaan Tallinn. Estonia is widely considered a prominent tech hub in Europe. The country is home to the highest number of unicorns per capita in Europe, according to the Estonian Investment Agency. Meanwhile, Estonia's e-residency scheme has also enabled foreigners to become digital residents and launch their companies in the country. The new round values five-year-old Lightyear at between $200 million and $300 million, significantly higher than its valuation in 2022 when it raised $25 million, according to two people familiar with the matter who preferred to remain anonymous as the information has not been made public. Alongside the additional funding, Lightyear is also launching new artificial intelligence features. AI has been a hot area of investment for startups following the explosive popularity of generative AI services like OpenAI's ChatGPT. One of the features, called "Why Did It Move," allows users to select a point in time on a stock chart and see what happened that day to cause a jump or fall in a company's share price. The firm is also using AI to provide "bull" and "bear" theses on stocks as well as short updates on assets in their own portfolios. "In the end, you're going to have two models" when it comes to investing, according to Sokk: "Self-driving money," where you ask an AI to achieve certain investment goals, and a "manual gearbox" approach of figuring out different strategies and approaches on your own. Still, the market for online investment products is heavily competitive. Lightyear faces some hefty competition from both incumbent brokerage services as well as more modern tech players such as Robinhood, Revolut and Trade Republic. However, Sokk insists Lightyear is building a differentiated enough product to stand out from the crowd. While competitors like Robinhood profit from offering risky products like crypto and margin trading, Lightyear is focused on serving long-term investors, he told CNBC. To that end, Sokk said Lightyear is planning on rolling out a crypto product of its own in two months' time — one that's "more focused on a long-term view."
CNBC
23-07-2025
- CNBC
35-year-old American left the U.S. for China, spends $568/month: 'I'm living large'
In 2019, just after her 30th birthday, Aleese Lightyear left a career in reality TV production behind to teach English as a second language in China. At the time, Lightyear was earning around $100,000 a year, working eight months out of the year. "I was living check to check, which sucked. My last few years living and working in New York City were some of the most stressful years of my life," Lightyear tells CNBC Make It. "I was tired of working 70 hours a week for ten years. Being in my 20s, I felt like a 50-year-old woman." It was a quick Google search that helped Lightyear decide to leave life as she knew it in New York City, for something very different. She searched "How do I make money and travel the world?" and the result at the very top of the list was all about teaching English abroad. She then spoke with a coworker who had taught in South Korea, and started learning as much as she could about what it would take to teach overseas with no experience. For the rest of that year, she took on various odd jobs to supplement her income. As a freelancer, Lightyear had no retirement savings, benefits, or health insurance. "On paper [it] sounds great, but New York City is one of the world's most expensive cities, so that $100,000 went extremely fast," Lightyear says. "I should have been saving for those things. I was living check to check, which sucked. My last few years living and working in New York City were some of the most stressful years of my life." After completing a 13-week program to get a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certification, Lightyear moved to Beijing. She lived in the Chinese capital for four years, working as a teacher, before relocating to Chengdu in 2023, where she currently teaches English essay writing at a university. Lightyear works 18 hours a week, four days a week and has a yearly salary of about $30,000 USD. ″$30,000 a year is poverty in America but in China, I'm living large," she says. Some of the benefits and perks of Lightyear's job include free health insurance, a travel stipend, a flight allowance, two months of paid summer and winter vacation, and a rent stipend. Lightyear took a pay cut when she left her teaching job in Beijing, but doesn't regret it because life in the Chinese capital started to feel too similar to her time in New York City. "I didn't move all the way across the world to work as much as I did in New York," she says. "My current work-life balance is a dream. I'm able to have time to do so many different hobbies, to take the time to actually learn the language and to do whatever I want when I want, and that feels amazing. I just feel so lucky and happy to be able to have so much time to myself." In Chengdu, Lightyear lives in a pre-furnished three-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment with a balcony and laundry room. Because of the rent stipend , Lightyear pays only $278 for her accommodations. She also spends about $15 a month for her Internet, cell phone and Wi-Fi, $75 a month on groceries, $50 a month on electricity and $150 a month on eating out — roughly $568 a month in expenses. That doesn't include her water and gas bill, which Lightyear says she still hasn't had to pay for because her landlord prepaid for those utilities before she moved into the apartment. Lightyear also works as a content creator and has an active YouTube channel. That supplemental income allows her to save up to $1,000 a month. "I haven't saved enough money to buy a house in the U.S. but I have saved enough money to pay off a lot of my student loans and I think I've saved enough money to buy a little casita on the beach in Mexico," she says. "Fingers crossed that is the plan." Lightyear recently renewed her lease and plans to stay in Chengdu for at least another year or so. After that, the 35-year-old American plans to return home to Michigan, where she will decide where to settle next. While Lightyear knows she's ready to leave China, she doesn't know if there is another country she could move to that will give her the same thrill. "I just think China is the hardest country to live and travel in as a non-Chinese person, so I know that anything other than this will be so much easier, but I fear that I might find that boring," she says. "In China, I can challenge myself every day and I know that in another country, after a while, those challenges leave." 0.14
CNBC
15-07-2025
- Business
- CNBC
35-year-old American moved to China, pays $278 a month in rent for a 3-bedroom apartment—take a look inside
At 30 years old, Alesse Lightyear decided it was time to leave New York City and her job in reality TV production. "I was living check to check, which sucked. My last few years living and working in New York City were some of the most stressful years of my life," Lightyear tells CNBC Make It. "I was tired of working 70 hours a week for ten years. Being in my 20s, I felt like a 50-year-old woman." Lightyear had lived in neighborhoods all across NYC and in Jersey City at one point, too. "At the height of my career in New York, I was probably making $100,000 a year [and] working eight months out of the year, which on paper sounds great, but New York City is one of the world's most expensive cities, so that $100,000 went extremely fast," Lightyear says. Lightyear took some time to consider where she might land next and decided on China, where should could teach English as a second language. In 2019, she made her official move to Beijing and hasn't looked back. Lightyear lived in the capital city for four years before relocating to Chengdu, where she got a job teaching at a university. After securing her job, Lightyear had just a few days to find an apartment. She looked at six places in 48 hours and settled on a furnished three-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment with a balcony and laundry room. It's located in downtown Chengdu and only a five-minute walk from the subway. Some of the benefits and perks of Lightyear's job include free health insurance, a travel stipend, a flight allowance, two months of paid summer and winter vacation, and a rent stipend. The rent stipend she receives means Lightyear only has to pay half of her the $556 monthly rent — just $278 a month. To secure the apartment, Lightyear had to pay a security deposit, a broker's fee, and three months' rent totaling $2,780. Because her rent stipend didn't kick in until after she received her first paycheck, Lightyear was responsible for paying that full amount up front. "The process happens easily. As long as you have the money, you do everything right then and there," she says. In China, it's customary for potential tenants to try to negotiate the rent price, Lightyear says. But when she tried, the landlord wouldn't budge. Lightyear says she was OK with that because she liked the landlord and the apartment. "The benefits of this job just make life easy and cheap," Lightyear says. "The quality of my lifestyle in China is much better than the quality of life I had living in the U.S." Unlike in the U.S., most of Lightyear's utilities are pay-as-you-go versus the usual monthly or quarterly bill. Since she moved into the apartment, she hasn't had to pay for gas because her landlord loaded more than enough money on the gas card. Her additional expenses include $15 a month on her unlimited cell phone plan, Wi-Fi, and Internet. Lightyear also pays $50 a month for electricity, an average of $75 a month on groceries and $150 a month on eating out. Since moving to China and supplementing her teaching salary with content creation and an active YouTube channel, Lightyear estimates she's been able to save $1,000 a month. With the additional money she's able to save, Lightyear says she plans on buying a house outside the U.S., as she can't afford to buy a house back home. "I haven't saved enough money to buy a house in the U.S. but I have saved enough money to pay off a lot of my student loans and I think I've saved enough money to buy a little casita on the beach in Mexico," she says. "Fingers crossed that is the plan." Lightyear says she's staying in Chengdu for at least another 18 months, since she recently renewed her lease. Eventually, she'll return to Michigan while deciding where to settle down next. Lightyear says she knows she's ready to leave the country she's called home for six years, but isn't quite sure which country will give her the same thrill. "I just think China is the hardest country to live and travel in as a non-Chinese person, so I know that anything other than this will be so much easier, but I fear that I might find that boring," she says. "In China, I can challenge myself every day and I know that in another country, after a while, those challenges leave."
![35-year-old American moved to Chengdu and lives on $30,000 a year: "[It's] poverty in America, but in China I'm living large'](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimage.cnbcfm.com%2Fapi%2Fv1%2Fimage%2F108167583-1751548516689-chinacelia1.jpg%3Fv%3D1751549197%26w%3D1920%26h%3D1080&w=3840&q=100)
CNBC
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNBC
35-year-old American moved to Chengdu and lives on $30,000 a year: "[It's] poverty in America, but in China I'm living large'
In her late 20s, Aleese Lightyear worked in reality TV production and lived in New York City, which she thought was her dream. "At the height of my career in New York, I was probably making $100,000 a year [and] working eight months out of the year, which on paper sounds great, but New York City is one of the world's most expensive cities, so that $100,000 went extremely fast," Lightyear tells CNBC Make It. "I was spending all of my money going out and buying clothes so that I could be trendy and feel like I was living in the 'Sex and the City' New York City dream." As her 30th birthday approached, Lightyear realized she was still working 70 to 80 hours a week, but didn't have any retirement savings. And because she was a freelancer, she didn't have benefits or health insurance. "I should have been saving for those things. I was living check to check, which sucked. My last few years living and working in New York City were some of the most stressful years of my life," she says. "I came up with this idea that I wanted to leave New York because I was tired of working 70 hours a week for ten years. Being in my 20s, I felt like a 50-year-old woman." One day, Lightyear woke up and searched, "How do I make money and travel the world?" The first result was about teaching English. After speaking with a coworker who had taught in South Korea, Lightyear began researching what it would entail to teach overseas with no prior experience. "I kind of put that on pause because I just wasn't sure if that was right for me. It took me about two years to make the decision that I wanted to become a teacher," she says. "Google told me I just needed a TEFL certificate to teach English to foreign language learners, so I enrolled." Lightyear completed a 13-week program to earn her Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certification, initially setting her sights on South America. She quickly changed course, however, deciding that if she was going to leave her life in New York behind, she would go as far as possible. "If I'm going to move all the way across the world, I better go to the furthest country that I know absolutely nothing about and have a full adventure, and China just seemed like pure adventure, fun, excitement, and great money," Lightyear says. "I'm someone who has traveled a lot but I'd never been to Asia before, so I didn't really know what to expect and to be honest, my first few days were just a huge blur because there was so much culture shock." Lightyear, 31 at the time, made her official move to Beijing, China in 2019 — and she hasn't looked back. She lived in the Chinese capital for four years before moving to Chengdu, where she is a teacher at a university. Lightyear works 18 hours a week, four days a week and has a yearly salary of about $30,000 USD. "$30,000 a year is poverty in America but in China, I'm living large," she says. Her typical work week is entirely different than it was in New York. In China, she works Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, offering two to three classes a day. Some of her benefits include free health insurance, a travel stipend, a rent stipend, a flight allowance and two months of paid summer and winter vacation. Lightyear took a pay cut when she left her job in Beijing for one in Chengdu. But her life in Beijing had started to feel too similar to her time in NYC, so she has no regrets. "I didn't move all the way across the world to work as much as I did in New York," she says. "My current work-life balance is a dream. I'm able to have time to do so many different hobbies, to take the time to actually learn the language and to do whatever I want when I want, and that feels amazing. I just feel so lucky and happy to be able to have so much time to myself." In Chengdu, Lightyear lives in a pre-furnished three-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment with a balcony and laundry room. Because of the rent stipend she gets, Lightyear only has to pay $278 a month for her accommodations. Lightyear supplements her income as a teacher with content creation and an active YouTube channel. Both of those things allow her to save up to $1,000 a month. It's something she was never able to do living in the U.S. Now that she's been living in China for over five years, Lightyear says when she visits the U.S., she experiences reverse culture shock. She's almost always having to explain to friends, family and strangers why her life now is so much better there than it was before. "For the typical American, there is a lot of confusion and misinformation about what life is truly like in China, but I feel completely safe as a woman, as a woman of color, being independent, doing anything. I feel very at ease in this country," she says. Though she feels comfortable in China, Lightyear says that because the country is so homogeneous, as a person of color she "sticks out like a sore thumb," and it does bother her at times. "I probably cannot go an hour being outside without someone pointing at me and saying, in Chinese, 'there's a black person, look, there's a foreigner," she says. "If I'm going to a touristy spot, the amount of people who take photos of me while I'm not looking or will ask me to take photos, then next thing I know, there's a line of people who want to take photos with me." Despite those uncomfortable moments and the time it's taken to adjust to Chinese culture, Lightyear says her self-confidence has skyrocketed. "I still face a lot of challenges [and] there are so many things I still have no idea about, and in the very beginning, that was the hardest part," she says. "You know the saying that if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere? Well, throw that away and apply it to China. If you can make it in China, you can truly make it anywhere. I feel fearless and like there's nothing I can't do." 0.14
