Acorns Cancels Its $2.2 Billion Plan to Go Public

Harri Weber

Harri is dot.LA's senior finance reporter. She previously worked for Gizmodo, Fast Company, VentureBeat and Flipboard. Find her on Twitter and send tips on L.A. startups and venture capital to harrison@dot.la.

Acorns Cancels Its $2.2 Billion Plan to Go Public
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Investing app Acorns has pulled the plug on its plan to go public through a $2.2 billion SPAC deal with blank-check company Pioneer Merger Corp.

Noah Kerner, CEO of Irvine-based Acorns, blamed “market conditions” for the canned merger, and said the company would instead pivot to a “private capital raise at a higher pre-money valuation,” per a Reuters report.


As it now looks to the private market to raise money to fund its growth, Acorns must also pay Pioneer a $17.5 million breakup fee over the course of the year.

Acorns was among several Southern California-based fintech firms that have turned to SPACs, or special purpose acquisition companies, as an expedited route to the public market. West Hollywood-based banking app Dave listed on the Nasdaq via a SPAC deal earlier this month, while Marina del Rey-based eco-conscious neo-bank Aspiration plans to seal its SPAC merger by the end of the first quarter.

SPAC deals have exploded in popularity in the past few years—and while they can offer a speedier and cheaper alternative to traditional IPOs, they often perform worse and have attracted scrutiny from securities regulators. Local firms like Bird and Sweetgreen have found their stock struggling in the wake of their SPAC deals.

Acorns was founded in 2012 and has since grown to more than 4.6 million paid subscribers who use its online investing and banking services.

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Colleen Wachob On Navigating Her Wellness Journey As An Entrepreneur

Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

Colleen Wachob On Navigating Her Wellness Journey As An Entrepreneur
Courtesy of Behind Her Empire

On this episode of Behind Her Empire, mindbodygreen co-founder and co-CEO Colleen Wachob shares her perspective on managing stress and navigating self-worth as an entrepreneur and the importance of celebrating the wins in your business.

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Indji Systems Introduces Groundbreaking Hail Detection Technology to Protect Solar Panels and Prevent Millions in Damages

Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

Indji Systems Introduces Groundbreaking Hail Detection Technology to Protect Solar Panels and Prevent Millions in Damages

Last week, Indji Systems, a Los Angeles-based software and online services company added its new hail detection technology to its Indji Watch platform. The latest addition to its platform comes at a time when insurers are requiring these sites to demonstrate mitigation strategies and protocols to prevent significant damage to its assets and solar panels.

The cloud based software that was announced in 2008 aims to equip solar industry players with capabilities to anticipate hail events and implement effective defensive measures for its sites.

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LA Tech ‘Moves’: Mapp Gains New CPO and CTO, Prodoscore Taps Boeing Exec

Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

LA Tech ‘Moves’: Mapp Gains New CPO and CTO, Prodoscore Taps Boeing Exec
LA Tech ‘Moves’:

“Moves,” our roundup of job changes in L.A. tech, is presented by Interchange.LA, dot.LA's recruiting and career platform connecting Southern California's most exciting companies with top tech talent. Create a free Interchange.LA profile here—and if you're looking for ways to supercharge your recruiting efforts, find out more about Interchange.LA's white-glove recruiting service by emailing Sharmineh O’Farrill Lewis (sharmineh@dot.la). Please send job changes and personnel moves to moves@dot.la.

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