Astor, an AI-native investment advisory platform registered with the SEC, announced a $5 million seed round 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 says the round was driven by strong early traction, including thousands of users and more than $200 million in connected accounts since launch.
The funding will be used to expand Astor’s product, engineering, and growth teams, while also broadening its service offerings. The company is focused on addressing a widening gap in financial advice accessibility, particularly among younger and less wealthy investors who are often excluded from traditional advisory services.
Astor positions itself at a time when investing participation is rising, but informed guidance remains limited. The company highlights that many individuals now rely on social media and speculative trends such as meme stocks, crypto, and prediction markets, contributing to what it describes as a shift toward entertainment-driven investing. According to FINRA data cited by the company, 61% of investors under 35 rely on social media for investment decisions.
At the same time, traditional financial advisors typically require high minimum asset thresholds, often around $500,000, leaving a majority of Americans without access to professional guidance. Only about 35% of Americans work with a financial advisor, and among those under 30, that number falls below 5%.
Astor was founded by Bruno Koba and Daniel Tulha, who drew on their experiences growing up in Brazil, where financial advisory services are more broadly accessible regardless of wealth. After moving to the United States, they observed that most individuals invest independently, often without structured guidance.
The platform connects directly to users’ brokerage accounts and analyzes holdings across metrics such as performance, risk, and diversification. It then provides personalized recommendations through a conversational AI interface. As an SEC-registered advisor, Astor operates under a fiduciary duty to act in clients’ best interests, distinguishing it from generalized AI tools and informal advice channels.
Koba previously worked as a fintech investor at Monashees and as a data scientist at Nubank, where he developed machine learning models for credit scaling. Tulha brings engineering experience from Stripe and Robinhood, where he worked on financial infrastructure at scale. The founders participated in Y Combinator’s Summer 2025 batch, where they developed the foundation for Astor.
Astor’s stated mission is to democratize access to high-quality financial guidance by delivering personalized, AI-driven advice to a broader population of investors.
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
