AI Startup Autonomous Raises $15 Million to Disrupt Wealth Management

Autonomous Technologies Group has emerged from stealth with a $15 million pre-seed funding round to launch an AI-powered financial advisory platform. Led by Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan, the investment supports the development of "Autonomous," an application designed to provide sophisticated wealth management strategies to the general public. Founders Dillon Erb and Daniel Kobran, who previously sold their startup Paperspace to DigitalOcean for $111 million, are leveraging the capital to challenge traditional financial advisory models.

The $15 million round represents an exceptionally large pre-seed investment, signaling high confidence from top-tier Silicon Valley investors. Joining Garry Tan in the syndicate are BoxGroup, Collaborative Fund, and Fusion Fund, along with strategic angel investors from the quantitative hedge fund space. This influx of capital allows the New York and San Francisco based team to scale operations rapidly ahead of their official market entry.

The company plans to utilize the funds primarily to expand its engineering and AI research teams, which currently consist of fifteen specialists from firms like Meta and Spotify. A significant portion of the budget is allocated toward refining the platform’s reasoning capabilities to ensure the AI can handle complex, real-time financial decisions. The startup is also navigating the regulatory landscape, preparing for an iOS launch later this year following SEC and FINRA compliance checks.

The Autonomous app intends to replace static robo-advisors with a dynamic strategist that manages tax-loss harvesting and personalized stock indexing. Unlike traditional firms that charge a percentage of assets under management, the group is positioning its core guidance features as free for early users. The startup seeks to monetize through specialized trading tools, such as the Autonomous Index, rather than the industry-standard advisory fee.

Beyond the initial launch, the founders envision a future where the platform manages every aspect of a user's financial life. This roadmap includes expanding into automated retirement planning, digital assets, and private equity exposure. By removing human intermediaries, the venture hopes to prevent the erosion of wealth caused by compounding management fees over several decades.

As the platform rolls out, it marks a significant attempt to automate the complex "family office" services usually reserved for the ultra-wealthy. With its team of infrastructure experts and significant financial backing, ATG is poised to test whether AI can truly replace the human touch in high-stakes financial planning. The success of this model could redefine how retail investors interact with the global markets.