By OpenAI has officially acquired the AI-powered personal finance startup Hiro. Founder Ethan Bloch confirmed the move, which marks a significant transition for the young company backed by major venture capital firms.
The specific financial terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed to the public at this time. However, the deal is widely considered an “acquihire” because Hiro will shut down its operations on April 20 and delete all user data by May 13. Bloch and his team, which consists of about ten employees, will transition to working directly within OpenAI. This shift brings an experienced group of developers into a company that is rapidly expanding its capabilities.
Hiro was originally founded in 2023 and officially launched its specialized financial planning tool just five months ago. The application allowed users to input data like salary and debts to model various financial scenarios using advanced artificial intelligence. Notably, the startup trained its AI specifically to excel at complex financial mathematics, a historical weak point for many language models. Users could even verify the accuracy of the math, making it a reliable tool for personal financial decision-making.
This acquisition aligns with OpenAI’s growing interest in developing better tools for business finance teams and potentially capturing new user bases. It may also be a strategic move to attract users of OpenClaw, a popular AI agent for robo-stock trading that Bloch himself utilized. Bloch is a seasoned tech entrepreneur with a track record of selling successful finance-related companies, including the digital bank Digit for over $200 million. His extensive experience in fintech makes his team a highly valuable asset for OpenAI’s future financial applications.
As OpenAI continues its record-breaking growth, acquiring specialized talent from companies like Hiro strengthens its technological edge. While Hiro users will soon lose access to their app, the underlying expertise will now help shape the future of OpenAI’s financial tools.