Astor, an AI-native investment advisory platform registered with the SEC, announced that it has raised $5 million in seed funding led by Monashees, with participation from Y Combinator, Goodwater Capital, Gilgamesh Ventures, 468 Capital, Valutia, Sunshine Lake, and executives from Stripe and OpenAI. The company plans to use the funding to expand its product, engineering, and growth teams, as well as broaden its service offerings.
Since launching, Astor has attracted thousands of users and more than $200 million in connected accounts, signaling early traction for its approach to democratizing investment advice.
The company is entering a market where participation in investing has surged, but guidance has not kept pace. A growing number of individuals, particularly younger investors, are relying on social media and speculative trends such as meme stocks, cryptocurrencies, and prediction markets to make financial decisions. According to FINRA, a majority of investors under 35 now turn to social platforms for investment guidance, reflecting a shift toward entertainment-driven investing.
At the same time, traditional financial advisory services remain inaccessible for many. Advisors often require minimum account balances of $500,000 or more, leaving most Americans without professional guidance. Only about 35% of Americans work with a financial advisor, and that figure drops significantly among younger adults.
Astor was founded by Bruno Koba and Daniel Tulha, who experienced this gap firsthand. Both grew up in Brazil, where financial advisory access is more widely available regardless of wealth. After moving to the United States, they observed that most individuals were left to manage their investments alone.
Koba previously worked as a fintech investor at Monashees and as a data scientist at Nubank, while Tulha served as a software engineer at Stripe and Robinhood. The founders later joined Y Combinator’s Summer 2025 batch to build Astor.
Astor’s platform connects directly to users’ brokerage accounts, analyzes holdings across performance, risk, and diversification, and delivers personalized recommendations tailored to each portfolio. As an SEC-registered investment advisor, the company operates under a fiduciary duty to act in clients’ best interests, distinguishing it from social media advice and general-purpose AI tools.
The company’s broader goal is to provide accessible, personalized financial guidance to individuals who have traditionally been excluded from advisory services, positioning itself as an AI-driven alternative to conventional wealth management.
KEY QUOTES:
“We looked around and everyone we knew was investing on their own, with many treating their brokerage accounts like a casino. Back home, even the most basic advisor gives you the sense that someone is paying attention to your money. Here, unless you’re wealthy, nobody is.”
Bruno Koba, Co-Founder And CEO, Astor
“Most people don’t need more investment products, they need someone in their corner. Astor gives people the knowledge and guidance to actually take control of their financial future.”
“Bruno brings the investor perspective from his years at Monashees and the personal conviction of having lived this problem, while Daniel brings technical depth from building financial products at Stripe, and Bruno going from Monashees investor to Monashees-backed founder is the kind of full-circle story we love to be part of.”
Fabiola Quinzaños, Partner, Monashees
