Betterment wasn’t looking to sell.

There was speculation among some folks on Twitter that the New York City-based robo advisor would follow the path of its Silicon Valley rival Wealthfront and look for an acquisition. But the reality is the two companies are just built very differently.

While both emerged in the wake of a financial crisis, offering automated portfolio management as a superior alternative to expensive and often conflicted financial advisors, the two diverged long ago. Wealthfront focused on its core product while maintaining its antagonistic relationship with the industry — which made its eventual sale to UBS all the stranger. Betterment, on the other hand, decided to play nice, licensing its technology out to RIAs and eventually expanding in the retirement plan sponsorship business — diversifying its revenue all along.

The valuations and fundraising made it clear. Before cashing out for $1.4 billion, Wealthfront raised money in 2018 in a round that reportedly saw its valuation drop. Betterment raised an additional $160 million less than five months ago, commanding a $1.3 billion valuation, and is now using the money to buy its way into new markets. 

That’s not the behavior of a company looking for an exit. It’s more likely that the robo is on-track for the goal it has stated publicly for a long time: to go public.

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