SUMA Wealth has secured $2.2 million in new funding to further develop financial tools, content, and live and digital activations aimed at empowering young U.S. Latinos to build wealth.
Radicle Impact led the investment round, with participation from Vamos Ventures, OVO Fund, and the American Heart Association Impact Fund. They join previous investors, including Ulu Ventures, Female Founders Fund, and Chingona Ventures. This latest injection of capital brings SUMA’s total funding to $5.5 million.
The California-based fintech company first gained attention when it showcased as part of the Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2022. Co-founded by Beatriz Acevedo, Mary Hernandez, and Xavier Gutierrez, SUMA Wealth was established to create a financial app tailored for Latinos, a demographic Acevedo believes is often underserved.
The platform provides culturally relevant financial content, products, and experiences to empower Latinos to take control of their economic power and build wealth. SUMA Wealth collaborates with financial institutions like Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, and Wells Fargo, aiming to better engage with the Latino demographic.
“We really lean hard into the AI features to be able to highly personalize how you spend your money and how you can do better, but also that our community comes from so many different countries of origin,” Acevedo explained to TechCrunch. “It was very important that even on the features, even on the tone and the voice, even on the content that we serve you for education on what you’re trying to learn and accomplish, we do it in a way that is fully customized and personalized.”
This approach ensures that the app caters to users’ diverse backgrounds, using references, examples, and tones familiar to their cultures or reminiscent of their family members, she emphasized.
SUMA Wealth’s financial planning app. Image Credits: SUMA Wealth
In addition to the consumer app, Acevedo was also focusing on an enterprise offering, which has now been launched, alongside a new version of the app in December. Both of these entities have collectively reached 1 million users.
The personalized approach seems to be resonating with users. SUMA Wealth’s platforms have witnessed a 62% annual user growth rate. While the app remains free for users, the company is capitalizing on its partnerships with various brands, including dating app Match.com, and offering features such as more tailored coaching for a fee. The enterprise app operates on a subscription basis for companies to purchase for their employees or customers.
Despite SUMA Wealth being built for young U.S. Latinos and their families, Acevedo has been surprised by the app’s adoption by non-Latinos.
“Thirty percent are not Latinos, even though our jokes, our insights, and our images are very unapologetically Latino,” Acevedo noted. “This is a place where people feel welcome. We’re excited to see that not just Latinos have gravitated to the app and find our tools and our content useful.”
In addition to customer growth, SUMA Wealth’s revenue has surged nearly fivefold in the past year. The company has also made strategic acquisitions, including Intellecto, a learning management system aimed at further personalizing the user learning experience.
This acquisition followed the February 2023 purchase of savings and personal finance platform Reel. As part of this acquisition, Reel co-founder and CEO Daniela Corrente joined SUMA as chief strategy and business officer.
The new funding will be allocated toward the Intellecto acquisition, as well as new hires across engineering, product, and sales divisions. Additionally, the company is focusing on expanding its technology offerings to include more AI personalization, data analytics, and other advanced features.