companies

Cleo AI

Chat-first budgeting app that tracks spending, offers small cash advances, and delivers blunt, sometimes sarcastic financial commentary.

Cleo AI was founded in 2016 by Barney Hussey-Yeo, who built the first version from his own bedroom after working at payday lender Wonga and noticing how little financial guidance came bundled with easy credit. Cleo launched as a Facebook Messenger chatbot in the UK before shifting its focus to the US market in 2018, where most of its subscribers are now based. The London-headquartered company has raised more than $175 million across nine rounds, including an $80 million Series C led by Sofina in 2022 that valued Cleo at $500 million. Its best-known feature, an optional 'roast mode' that mocks users' spending habits, helped the app stand out in a budgeting-app market crowded with dashboards and pie charts. In March 2025, the FTC reached a $17 million settlement with Cleo over allegations that it misrepresented cash advance amounts and speed and made cancellation unreasonably difficult; Cleo did not admit wrongdoing and says its cancellation flow has since changed.

Founded

2016

Headquarters

London, United Kingdom

Sector

consumer