Greenlight, which offers kid-friendly bank accounts and debit cards, has raised $260 million in a Series D funding round, bringing its total valuation to $2.3 billion.
While the fintech company has kids in mind for its products, its sales pitch is directed at parents who are looking to teach their children the ins and outs of personal finance.
"Greenlight's all about trying to help parents raise financially smart kids," Tim Sheehan, co-founder and CEO of Greenlight, told Cheddar.
What age range does Greenlight have in mind for its budding financial wizards?
"It can really be any age. It's really up to the parent to decide," Sheehan said.
He added that Greenlight solves two key problems: It provides a way for parents to send their kids money in a "convenient, easy, instant, safe" way using app-based features that help them manage their child's finances, and it helps them teach their kids "healthy financial habits."
For Sheehan, that means learning how to save and even invest.
One product, Greenlight Max, allows kids to pick stocks on a zero-commission investment app similar to popular platforms such as Robinhood. The app encourages kid-investors to research their stock picks before pitching them to their parents, who have to approve each trade. It also allows kids to buy fractional shares, given that they're likely not working with a lot of money.
Sheehan stressed the financial benefits of investing early as well.
"Investing is such a powerful tool, especially if people start when they're young. You can really build wealth over the long-term," he said. "In the investing world, time is money."
This latest investment, Sheehan said, will help Greenlight continue to develop new products and services, as well as invest in geographic expansion and strategic partnerships. It also plans to hire another 300 employees, on top of its current 275, over the next two years.
"Greenlight has quickly emerged as the leader of the family finance category," said David George, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, which led the funding round, in a news release. "Greenlight was built to help parents raise financially-smart kids, and with its breakthrough combination of easy-to-use money management tools and educational resources, the company is well-positioned to become one of the most loved and trusted brands for families around the world."
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
