We Raised $750 Million. We’re Using it to Make Money Easier for Everyone

Seven years ago, we launched Wealthsimple with just four people and a mission that many thought was naive: use technology and innovation to revolutionize the finance industry so every Canadian could achieve financial freedom, no matter who they are or how much money they have. Of course, banks in Canada were notoriously entrenched; the “big five” have dominated financial services for around 150 years, and industry regulation made it hard for new players to break through. But being naively ambitious was a feature of Wealthsimple, not a bug — if we were going to change the financial life of a country, we had to believe we could do it when there was no reason to. I’m happy to say that our mission doesn’t seem quite so naive anymore.

Today I’m proud to announce a resounding vote of confidence: Wealthsimple has received what is to our knowledge the largest private tech investment in Canadian history. Meritech and Greylock, two of the world’s premier tech investors, are leading a $750 million investment round to help Wealthsimple do what we always believed it could: revolutionize the way we do money, and become the biggest consumer finance company in Canada in the process.

Here are a few details about the investment:

• The new round gives Wealthsimple a valuation of $5 billion.

• Besides Meritech and Greylock, best-in-class investors including DST Global, Sagard, Iconiq, Dragoneer, TCV, iNovia, Allianz X, Base 10, Redpoint, STEADFAST, Alkeon, TSV, Plus Capital and others participated in the round, plus prominent Canadian actors Ryan Reynolds and Michael J. Fox, and athletes Kelly Olynyk, Dwight Powell, and Patrick Marleau.

• And Drake, who also made an investment in the company.

I’m going to get to the part where I say that getting this investment isn’t an accomplishment, it’s just ammunition to accomplish what we set out to do. But first I want to thank you, the million-plus Canadians who trust Wealthsimple products to grow and manage their money — and the million more who use Wealthsimple to file your taxes. And to ask our team of engineers, portfolio managers, client success pros and everyone else at Wealthsimple to take a bow. Every dollar of this investment was earned by them.

But mostly I’d like us to look forward. I think the status quo in Canada has been put on notice. We will use this investment to give Canadians more, and more powerful, financial products; more efficient ways to grow and manage their money; and make sure that the door to financial freedom is open to every single one of us.

So thank you. Drake, see you later at my house.

Written By

Mike Katchen

Mike Katchen is the co-founder and CEO of Wealthsimple.