Exclusive: Origin buys Finny to expand financial wellness app for employees

Origin, which built a financial wellness app for employers to help employees, has acquired financial education startup Finny, the company tells Axios exclusively.

Why it matters: Amidst a tough financial market and increased economic uncertainty, more employers see financial wellness benefits as a key tool for retaining talent.

How it works: Origin works with employers to offer its financial planning and wellness app as an employee benefit.

• The app provides technology to help employees better track, understand and manage their finances.
• It also offers access to certified financial planners that give personalized advice so employees can reach their financial goals.
• Burlingame, California-based Finny has focused on financial education through a library of content and micro-lessons, but also has an app for helping employees better understand their finances.

Details: With the acquisition, Boston-based Origin will be able to broaden the educational element it can provide to users, while also boosting ongoing engagement on its platform, Origin founder Matthew Watson tells Axios.

• "Oftentimes, [a financial planner] will write a financial plan... and link out to another service and say, 'Here's a great article on that,'" he says. "We just want it to exist within our platform."

What's next: Watson said Origin will be integrating Finny into its native app over the next quarter.

• He notes there wasn't a lot of overlap between the apps' customer bases, so "that's net new business relationships for us."

• "On the Finny side, those customers will have a pretty significantly enhanced offering... and our customer base is thrilled about having access to an expanded educational experience for their employees," he added.

Between the lines: Watson did not disclose the terms of the deal, except to say that it included a mix of cash and equity.

• Notably, while Origin has retained some of Finny's content team through the acquisition, Watson says its founding team will not be joining the company.

Flashback: Since being founded in 2019, Origin has raised $70 million in funding from investors that include 01 Advisors, Lachy Groom, General Catalyst, Founders Fund, Felicis, and Abstract Ventures, among others.