Robinhood acquires AI-driven investment-advice platform Pluto

Robinhood has expanded in recent years into services including cryptocurrency, retirement products and credit cards

Robinhood Markets Inc. agreed to buy the artificial-intelligence research platform Pluto Capital Inc. to bring more tailored investment strategies and analysis to the retail brokerage’s users.

Founded by Jacob Sansbury, 24, Pluto is best known for AI-driven personalized investment advice and real-time analytics. Terms of the deal weren’t made public.

“They have built an impressive platform that is highly regarded in the financial-services industry,” Mayank Agarwal, Robinhood’s vice president of engineering, said in a statement Monday. “Their expertise in artificial intelligence coupled with a mission-aligned passion to democratize finance will complement our team’s effort to bring AI-powered tools to our customers.”

Robinhood has expanded in recent years into services including cryptocurrency, retirement products and credit cards. While it has grown, it’s also maintaining its focus on average retail traders, an area where Pluto can assist by analyzing updated market information and a consumer’s own portfolio to make investment recommendations.

That individualized advice has traditionally only been available to wealthier investors – something Sansbury has aimed to change.

“There will be no thresholds or no gates,” he said in an interview. “It’s very important for us to give access very democratically to everyone.”