AI-powered pension solution Abaka raises $6.5m in Series A

Written by Ruby Hinchliffe
21st December 2019

Abaka, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered digital retirement solution provider, has landed a $6.5 million Series A investment which it’s calling “one of the biggest” for the pensions and retirement space.

Backers in the round for the UK-based company included Thames Trust, global private equity group Ace & Company and Downing Ventures, a division of Downing.

Fintech solutions geared towards pensions are beginning to gain traction across Europe, a continent which boasts a €12 trillion pension and retirement savings market.

Abaka’s founder and CEO Fahd Rachidy

In August this year, German fintech Raisin acquired fairr, a fintech designed specifically for retirement savings. Two months before this, a UK-based auto-enrollment pension service provider called Smart Pensions was spotted by the Financial Times to have its eye on expansion further afield to the US, after taking part in a UK fintech delegation in Chicago led by then-Lord Mayor of London Peter Estlin.

Abaka’s most recent funding round brings its total investments to date to $10 million. It is looking to use the capital injection for international expansion into Asia and North America, as well as AI-focused product development.

The pensions and retirement fintech says it wants to use AI to “revolutionise” the retirement and savings industry by allowing companies to “better engage their clients in financial planning”.

“It’s great to see our investors supporting our innovation in this market,” says Abaka’s founder and CEO Fahd Rachidy.

“In a world of hyper-personalisation and digital experiences, financial services companies across the globe face the challenge of engaging their customers to plan for a financially secure retirement and the pensions sector is calling out for innovation,” Rachidy adds.

Investors are backing the start-up due to what they see as “the rising demand for digital advice on long-term savings and retirement” as a result of low-margins and profitability challenges for financial institutions.