OpenAI Acquires Hiro Finance; Startup to Shut Down in April

In an exciting turn of events, OpenAI has successfully acquired the personal finance startup Hiro Finance, according to an announcement by founder Ethan Bloch, confirmed later by OpenAI. Hiro Finance was previously supported by powerhouse fintech VC firm Ribbit, General Catalyst, and Restive.

Details of the Acquisition

The exact details of the acquisition remain undisclosed. With Hiro’s operations ceasing on April 20 and all data scheduled for deletion from its servers on May 13, it’s clear that this is an acquihire.

The Hiro Team Joins OpenAI

Bloch stated in his post that the Hiro team will be joining him at OpenAI. Though he didn’t disclose the exact number of employees, LinkedIn shows around 10 people associated with Hiro.

What Hiro Brought to the Table

Hiro, founded in 2023 and having launched its AI tool just five months ago, offered AI-empowered financial planning for consumers. The app allowed users to input financial data such as salary, debts, and monthly costs, and modeled what-if scenarios to facilitate sound financial decisions.

Hiro’s Unique Selling Proposition

Bloch highlighted that Hiro was specifically designed to excel in financial math, even providing an option for users to validate accuracy. Over the past few years, frontier AI models have significantly improved their mathematical abilities.

How This Deal Stands Out

This deal grabs attention for several reasons. Bloch had previously founded Digit, a digital-only bank that was sold to Oportun in 2021 for over $200 million. Furthermore, this isn’t the first time OpenAI has purchased a financial app. With OpenAI marketing ChatGPT as a valuable tool for business finance teams, it’s plausible that OpenAI is looking to bolster its talent pool in this area.

What This Could Mean for OpenAI

This acquisition might be a strategic move by OpenAI to attract more OpenClaw users, who often prefer the Claude agent for robo stock trading. Bloch had even created his own auto-trading OpenClaw agent, RoboBuffett, as explained on LinkedIn.

Bloch’s Legacy in Tech Entrepreneurship

In a chat with Business Insider, Bloch revealed that Hiro was his 15th venture. He entered tech entrepreneurship at the young age of 13, and despite the failure of his first 13 projects, he sold his 14th, Flowtown, for $4.5 million and Digit for around $230 million. With the sale of Hiro to OpenAI, a company known for record-breaking growth and fundraising, Bloch’s legacy in tech entrepreneurship continues to flourish.