OpenAI buys Hiro

OpenAI has bought Hiro, a startup that built an artificial-intelligence tool for personal financial planning. (techcrunch.com) Hiro founder Ethan Bloch disclosed the deal on Monday, April 13, and OpenAI confirmed it to TechCrunch. The companies did not disclose a price, and TechCrunch reported the transaction looked largely like an acquihire, with Hiro employees joining OpenAI. (techcrunch.com) Hiro was founded in 2023 and launched its consumer product about five months before the sale. The app asked users for salary, debt, and monthly spending, then ran “what if” scenarios such as buying a house, changing jobs, or taking time off work. (techcrunch.com, hirofinance.com) On Hiro’s website this week, the company described itself as an “AI personal CFO” and said users could inspect and verify its calculations. It also said it used Plaid to connect to financial institutions and did not store bank login credentials. (hirofinance.com, hirofinance.com) The purchase extends OpenAI’s recent push into finance work. OpenAI last month introduced ChatGPT for Excel in beta and added financial data integrations from FactSet, Dow Jones Factiva, London Stock Exchange Group, Daloopa, and S&P Global inside ChatGPT. (openai.com) OpenAI has also been pitching finance use cases more directly to businesses. Its financial-services materials say ChatGPT can help teams build and stress-test models, run scenarios, and accelerate financial analysis inside regulated environments. (openai.com, academy.openai.com) Hiro’s founders pitched the company as a cheaper alternative to the mix of spreadsheets, budgeting apps, bank portals, and human advisers many consumers use now. On its about page, Hiro said Bloch and co-founder Rushabh Doshi started the company after working together at Digit, the savings app Oportun bought for $238 million in 2021. (hirofinance.com) That history helps explain why OpenAI may have wanted the team. Hiro said its software was built to be strong at financial math and let users check the underlying calculations, a narrower problem than general chatbot advice. (techcrunch.com, hirofinance.com) OpenAI has not said whether Hiro’s tools will appear as a standalone product or inside ChatGPT. For now, the clearest signal is that OpenAI is adding another finance-focused team just as it expands ChatGPT’s role in spreadsheets, data integrations, and scenario planning. (techcrunch.com, openai.com)