Built By Berkeley

Welcome to Built By Berkeley, where we announce all the funding rounds by Berkeley-founded companies. This is a community effort, so please let us know if we missed a company here. 🐻

A Year Goes Fast – Savvy Wealth Announces $72M Series B

Around a year ago, Canvas Prime (where I work!) led a $26.5M Series A into Savvy Wealth. Today, they announced a $72M Series B led by Industry Ventures.

Savvy was founded by Berkeley alum Ritik Malhotra, who is a Superfounder (great book on this topic!). Savvy is Ritik’s 3rd business having sold his first company to Box, his second to Brex where he launched Brex Cash. 

I wasn’t a full-time employee at Canvas when I first met Ritik (though he did later mention he was a bit confused why I wasn’t on the website!). Even then, it was clear he was a unique founder with a massive mission to transform financial services. As my first investment at Canvas, this one is definitely special.

What does Savvy do?

Savvy is the next generation of Registered Investment Advisor (RIA), built from the ground up as a fully tech-enabled platform infused with AI. Their customer is the wealth manager and they’re making their lives easier by automating mind-numbing processes and busywork. Their value proposition also involves providing an amazing experience for the end user.

A Massive Opportunity in the RIA Market

The Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) market is experiencing tremendous growth. According to a study by Cerulli Associates, RIA assets under management are projected to reach $21 trillion by 2025. This surge is driven by a combination of factors, including:

• Shifting demographics: The wealth of millennials and Gen Z is on the rise. A report by Fidelity Investments estimates that the largest wealth transfer in history is underway, with millennials set to inherit $68 trillion over the next few decades. These younger generations often seek a different approach to wealth management than traditional firms offer.

• Demand for technology-driven solutions: Investors increasingly value user-friendly platforms and easy access to financial information. Savvy caters to this demand by providing a modern and accessible wealth management experience.

What does Savvy do within this?

Savvy's unique value proposition extends beyond just attracting end-user clients. The platform is designed to empower financial advisors that are up and coming in their careers. Wirehouse firms and larger RIAs built bespoke products for these users on legacy tech but never a full holistic solution. Savvy is updating the stack by doing the following:

• Streamlined Operations: Traditional RIA platforms often burden advisors with cumbersome back-office tasks and inefficient workflows. Savvy's platform automates many of these tasks, such as account onboarding, document management, and performance reporting. This frees up advisors' time to focus on building relationships with clients and providing personalized financial advice.‍

• AI-powered Client Management: Current RIA platforms often lack robust client relationship management (CRM) tools. Savvy's platform utilizes AI to provide advisors with a comprehensive CRM system. This allows for better client segmentation, targeted communication, and ultimately, stronger client relationships.‍

• Marketing and Client Acquisition: Many independent advisors struggle with attracting new clients. Savvy provides advisors with marketing automation tools and access to a network of potential clients. This empowers advisors to grow their practices more efficiently.

What’s happened since we invested in just over a year?

• AUM has grown to $2.2B, up from $1B just five months ago = fastest-growing RIA in history (I think?!).

• Back then, we spoke to incredible advisors including Daniel Perrino, Ryan Bond, CFP®, and John Khoury, MSF, who validated the 19 hours a week (and increasing!) of AI driven automation that Savvy delivers. That exceptional group now numbers 60+!

• Ritik Malhotra (Founder & CEO) is a confirmed super-founder. The Savvy team’s speed of execution is unmatched. They are also a great example of an in person culture, going to their office in NYC you get the energy and excitement of the team. 

They are just getting started, and I am even more convinced that Savvy will be the standout winner in the largest transfer of wealth in history, the $68T+ shift to Millennials and Gen Z. Another generational Berkeley company in the making!

It is also continuing to rain Berkeley founded IPOs, low power chip maker Ambiq micro has filed to go public. 

Summary by the #️⃣ & 💰:

• 11 Berkeley-founded companies funded

• $327M of capital raised from the 30th June to 6th July

💡 Got any ideas or feedback on how to improve this weekly digest? Just hit reply.

IPO / Acquisitions

🔋 Ambiq IPO 🇺🇲Ultra-low power chips. 💰 Cisco Investments, Kleiner Perkins, 

🐻 Dennis Sylvester, Founder. PhD EECS Article

🔗 Blue Cheetah Analog Design Acquisition 🇺🇲Chiplet interconnect IP. 💰Tenstorrent

🐻 Elad Alon, CEO & Co-Founder. Professor Article

📬 Relevvo Acquisition 🇺🇲AI B2B sales platform. 💰 Intuit

🐻 Tushar Shanbhag, Co-Founder & President. Haas MBA Article

✉️ Superhuman Acquisition 🇺🇲AI-powered email platform. 💰 Grammarly

🐻 Vivek Sodera, Co-Founder. BS Chem Eng Article

🗺️ UrbanFootprint Acquisition 🇺🇸 Location‑intelligence platform. 💰 LightBox

🐻 Joe DiStefano, CEO & Co‑Founder, BA History. Article

Closed Rounds

🌱 Climeworks $162M Growth 🇨🇭Carbon‑capture scaling for net‑zero. 💰 Baillie Gifford, Global Founders Capital, John Doerr

🐻 Christoph Gebald, CEO & Founder. MEng Article

📈 Savvy Wealth $72M Series B 🇺🇲AI wealth management. 💰 Canvas Prime, Industry Ventures, Mark Casady

🐻 Ritik Malhotra, CEO & Founder. BS EECS Article

🧬 Healthcare Foundry $21.2M Series B 🇺🇲 Healthcare venture studio. 💰 Commonwealth Care Alliance, HC9 Ventures, Khosla Ventures

🐻 Alon Krashinsky, CEO & Founder. BS Business Administration 

🤝 Wisq $15M Series A 🇺🇲 Employee engagement tool. 💰 Norwest Venture Partners, Shasta Ventures, True Ventures

🐻 Chih-Po Wen, Co-Founder & CTO. MS & PhD EECS Article

🩺 Relentless Health $14.2M Series B 🇺🇲 AI health diagnostics. 💰 StartX, Stony Lonesome Group,

🐻 Boris Fain, Co-Founder & CSO. BA Maths

🧠 Arialys Therapeutics $14M Seed 🇺🇲 Neuroimmune drug developer. 💰 Alexandria Venture Investments, Avalon Bioventures, Catalys Pacific

🐻 Brian Slingsby, Co-Founder. Haas MBA

🌱 NuCicer $13.8M Series A 🇺🇲 Protein-rich chickpeas. 💰 Better Ventures, Lever VC, The House Fund

🐻 Kathryn Cook, CEO & Co-Founder. BS & MS Material Science 

🧪 Rune Labs $11.2M Series B 🇺🇲 Neuro data platform. 💰 468 Capital, Eclipse Ventures, Village Global

🐻 Brian Pepin, CEO & Founder. MS EECS

🛰️ LeoLabs $4M Grant 🇺🇲 Space radar intelligence. 💰 Dolby Family Ventures, Insight Partners, MicroVentures

🐻 Daniel Ceperley, COO & Co-Founder. MS & PhD EECS Article

🔬 Nanopath $0.1M Grant 🇺🇲 Point-of-care diagnostics. 💰 Alumni Ventures, GingerBread Capital, Norwest Venture Partners

🐻 Alison Burklund, Co-Founder. MS Bioengineering Article

📊 REM Undisclosed 🇺🇲 AI commissions platform. 💰 Flex Capital

🐻 Jorge Banuelos, CEO & Founder. MS and PhD Statistics Article

Our goal is to document the startup ecosystem of Berkeley-founded companies. Please share this newsletter with any Cal Bears in your network so we can crowdsource information about all investment rounds and job opportunities.

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