Grab to Expand Financial Services With Stash Takeover

Grab plans to accelerate the growth of its financial services portfolio by acquiring digital investing platform Stash Financial.

The company signed definitive agreements to acquire Stash and expects the transaction to close in the third quarter, subject to customary closing conditions, it said in a press release.

Upon closing, the investing capabilities of Stash will join the mobility, delivery and financial services Grab offers to more than 50 million monthly transacting users across eight Southeast Asian countries, according to the release.

“This acquisition brings more than just recurring, high-margin subscription revenue; we will strengthen Grab’s FinTech knowhow with Stash’s AI-powered investing app, designed with existing U.S. regulatory requirements at its core,” Anthony Tan, group CEO and co-founder of Grab, said in the release. “While we remain operationally focused on Southeast Asia and scaling our regional loanbook, this move reinforces our mission of democratizing financial services for everyone.”

Stash is a U.S. digital financial services company and U.S. registered investment advisor focused on helping everyday Americans grow their long-term wealth, according to the release. The company has $5 billion in assets under management (AUM) and over 1 million paid subscribers.

The company offers a subscription-based app that offers investing, banking and financial education tools, as well as a financial wellness solution called StashWorks that is offered to U.S. employers and helps employees improve their financial habits, the release said.

Following the closing of the transaction, Grab plans to support Stash’s continued growth as an independent brand in the U.S., while also exploring opportunities to introduce Stash’s investing solutions in Southeast Asia, per the release. Stash Co-founders and Co-CEOs Brandon Krieg and Ed Robinson will continue to lead Stash.

“Grab has a track record of ecosystem-building through harnessing user data and a culture of entrepreneurship that will serve our growth ambitions,” Krieg said in the release. “This acquisition gives us the best of both worlds: the capabilities to double down on growth in the U.S., and the resources of a technology powerhouse to accelerate our vision of personalized, AI-driven financial guidance for millions of people across all parts of their financial lives.”

Stash secured $146 million in a May Series H funding round to deepen its investment in AI for its financial guidance platform. The company said at the time that its Money Coach AI platform had handled 2.2 million customer interactions.