Acorns, the California-based personal finance app that launched in 2014, is going public through a merger with Pioneer Merger Corp., a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) affiliated with hedge funds Falcon Edge Capital and Patriot Global Management.

Why should we care?
SPACs have become a popular vehicle to take fintech startups public, with recent examples including banking startup SoFi, digital mortgage provider Better, and trading app eToro. The Acorns deal comes to fruition as regulators weigh whether to introduce further oversight measures on SPACs to protect investors. Acorns, which has more than $4.7B in assets under management, operates through a monthly subscription model that allows its customers to save, invest, and bank through the platform. Acorns goes public as investing apps experience strong growth during the pandemic. Acorns claims it doubled its subscriber numbers during the first quarter of this year to 4 million – its best quarter ever. As Acorns seeks to expand its reach, it faces competition from robo-advisers Betterment, Wealthfront, and trading app Robinhood, which at the end of 2020 had 20 million users. Asked about competition, CEO Noah Kerner said “We run our own race. We’re focused on long-term financial wellness and helping customers get and stay committed to their long-term financial best interests.”