As Intuit announces the closure of its budgeting application Mint this week, competitor Copilot is witnessing a surge in its user base, attributing the shift to a growing consumer demand for more comprehensive finance management tools. Founded in New York by CEO Andrés Ugarte in January 2020, Copilot emerged as a subscription-based alternative to Mint, aiming to offer enhanced personal finance tracking and analysis. Today, the app boasts over 100,000 subscribers, many of whom engage with the app daily, while around 20% qualify as “heavy users,” accessing it up to ten times per day.

Ugarte shared with TechCrunch that the success of Copilot, especially in a landscape dominated by social networking apps, highlights the unique value it brings to the personal finance app market. Unlike its predecessors, Copilot focuses on presenting users with relevant spending and saving insights, tailored to their preferences in budgeting and financial goals. The app’s ability to help users save an average of 5% annually has effectively put back half a billion dollars into their pockets.

The genesis of Copilot was fueled by Ugarte’s personal experiences with Mint and other finance apps, which he found inadequate for modern financial management needs. His vision was to develop an app that not only simplifies account integration—averaging about ten accounts per user—but also utilizes the accumulated data to offer actionable insights.

The announcement of Mint’s shutdown on November 2 catalyzed significant growth for Copilot, marking its most successful day in terms of new user acquisition. This momentum has led to exponential growth, surpassing the company’s achievements in the preceding four years. This growth spurt enabled Copilot to secure a $6 million Series A funding round, spearheaded by Nico Wittenborn of Adjacent, and increase its total venture capital to $10.5 million.

Copilot, which achieved profitability in 2023, is now expanding its services to include Android and web platforms in response to consumer demand. This expansion, alongside investments in AI and product development, underscores the company’s commitment to enhancing user experience. Particularly, Copilot is exploring the integration of machine learning and chat interfaces to provide users with personalized finance conversations directly within the app, aiming for a comprehensive rollout by year-end.

The narrative of Copilot’s ascension in the wake of Mint’s closure encapsulates a larger trend in the financial tech industry, where the demand for intuitive, personalized finance management solutions is increasingly shaping the market’s future.