Google's former payments chief just unveiled his plans for a digital family office that relies on AI and already has $90 million in funding from backers like Ribbit Capital and Coatue
Summary
Arta is backed by investors such as Sequoia Capital India and Ribbit Capital.Caesar Sengupta is ready to unveil what hes been working on for the past year.The former Google payments chief, along with several other ex-Googlers, launched a so-called digital family office focused on broadening access to investments typically reserved for the ultra wealthy with the help of artificial intelligence.The new venture is named Arta Finance, shedding the companys stealth name, Arbo Works, and has over 140 angel investors along with capital raises led by Sequoia Capital India, Ribbit Capital, and Coatue that collectively total $90 million.Arta grew from a team of eight to 40 people by the end of 2021. It now has 80 employees with plans to add more members to its staff.Sengupta likened the startup to a next-generation robo-advisor, labeling it an AI-advisor instead. "Arta pools accredited investors individuals with $200,000 or more in net income or $1 million or more in net worth into public stocks and private-market investments such as private equity, real estate, and venture capital funds.The company is still experimenting with management fees, so there is not a set price yet. Its investment minimum, however, is $10,000, and customers are able to spread their assets across multiple investment funds to reach whatever desired outcome they have in mind.Arta will also allow clients to borrow against their public-market stocks to help investors avoid a liquidity event they dont want, something Sengupta dealt with first hand.When Sengupta was starting his family in 2008 and needed to buy a piece of property, he said he wound up selling some of his Google stock and missing some of the market rebound that followed the post-financial crisis. For Sengupta, he said the Covid pandemic was a wake-up call for him and many of Artas cofounders to rethink what they were doing with their lives.