Family savings fintech UNest raises $26m in Series B round

California-based UNest, which specialises in family savings, has raised $26 million in a Series B funding round.

Start-up has now raised nearly $40m from investors

The round was led by The Artemis Fund and includes existing investor Northwestern Mutual and new investor Franklin Templeton. The latter is taking a board seat. Launchpad Capital and Square co-founder Jim McKelvey also participated, among others.

The company will use the financing in part to launch new features. Planned is UNest Legacy, which will allow parents to buy individual stocks and cryptocurrencies for their children.

UNest describes itself as “a purpose-driven fintech company empowering parents to invest and save for their kids’ future”. It launched in February 2020.

The firm says users can open a UNest Investment Account for Kids in five minutes and with no paperwork via its app.

Jennifer Ball, head of US marketing for Franklin Templeton and new UNest board member, says: “UNest is addressing an important investment and advice gap. Millennials and Gen Z are looking for easier ways to manage their money.”

UNest founder and CEO Ksenia Yudina was previously vice-president at LA-based Capital Group.

To date, UNest has raised nearly $40 million from investors. This is particularly noteworthy given that, in 2020, female founders in the US received less than 1% of the total money raised by fintechs.