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Haido, a planned AI wealth service founded by former early Revolut employees Veronique Barbosa and Tom Reay, has opened a waitlist for early users. The company says it will provide account-agnostic financial insights and plans to seek regulatory authorisation next year; its launch date, authorisation status and product details remain unclear.
Haido, an AI wealth startup founded by former early Revolut employees Veronique Barbosa and Tom Reay, has opened a waitlist for its planned personal-finance service. The company says it will let users ask questions about their finances across accounts, while it prepares to seek regulatory authorisation next year.
Haido describes its name as an acronym for “How am I doing?” It says the product will use what it calls responsible AI to help people understand their financial situation by interacting with their money. The company characterises the planned service as account agnostic, but has not detailed which accounts or financial providers it will support.
The founders were Revolut employees number four and number one, respectively, according to Finextra. Haido has backing from Eileen Burbidge, former chair of Tide and Tech Nation and a former HM Treasury fintech envoy, and Laurence Twelvetrees, identified in the report as Revolut’s first head of risk. The report did not disclose the amount or terms of the backing.
Haido says 1,000 customers will receive early access through the waitlist. It also says those users can enter a free prize draw to win £1,000 to be paid into an existing savings or investment account. The company has not announced when early access will begin or set out the full terms of the offer.
Trust Is Central to AI Money Tools
Haido is entering a market where people are already experimenting with AI for money questions, but trust and accuracy remain concerns. Finextra cited Lloyds Banking Group’s Consumer Digital Index as finding that more than half of UK adults are turning to AI to help manage money. That figure describes reported use; it does not establish how many people would rely on an AI service for financial decisions.
The report also cited a Financial Times account of a study testing 18 AI models, which found they answered personal-finance questions incorrectly 57% of the time. Separately, a survey of 2,000 UK adults by FIS found that 22% said they were ready to hand day-to-day money management to an AI assistant, while 58% said they were not. Those findings point to a gap between using AI for guidance and trusting it with routine financial management.
Haido’s stated approach—standing behind its numbers rather than relying only on warnings that AI can be wrong—sets a high bar for a service dealing with people’s finances. Whether it can meet that bar will depend on how it sources and checks information, explains its outputs, protects users’ data and handles errors. Those operating details have not been provided in the announcement.
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Founders Bring Fintech Experience
Barbosa and Reay have also worked together at Flux, a digital receipts startup they founded. Flux joined Barclays’ London fintech accelerator after its founding in 2016, and Barclays took a minority stake in 2020, according to Finextra. The company shut down its network in 2022, months after reporting growth and user figures. That history is relevant to the founders’ startup experience, but it does not by itself establish how Haido will perform.
The backing adds people with experience in UK fintech to the new company’s early supporters. Burbidge has held senior roles in the sector, while Twelvetrees was Revolut’s first head of risk, according to the report. The source does not say whether either backer will take an operational role at Haido.
Haido’s next stated regulatory milestone is to seek authorisation next year. The announcement does not identify the specific regulator, the authorisation being sought or whether the service will be available before that process is complete.
““We’re on a mission to increase the wealth of every customer that uses our product. Nobody should need hours in a spreadsheet, a finance degree or circa £200,000 in liquid assets to know what’s going on with their money. With Haido, you just ask.””
— Haido chief executive Veronique Barbosa
The announcement does not specify when Haido will launch, what features early users will receive, or which financial accounts it will connect to. It also does not explain how the service will verify account data, protect sensitive information, correct inaccurate answers or distinguish general information from regulated financial advice.
The company says it plans to seek regulatory authorisation next year, but has not named the regulator or described the application. It is not clear whether Haido will limit access or functionality while authorisation is pending. The funding amount, the precise terms of the early-access prize draw and the number of people currently on the waitlist were also not disclosed.
The market figures cited by Finextra come from separate research with different methods and measures. They should not be read as a single estimate of demand for Haido or as proof that users will trust an AI service to manage their finances.
Waitlist Before Regulatory Application
People who join the waitlist may be among the 1,000 users offered early access, according to Haido. The company has not said when it will contact those users, begin testing or make the product generally available. Further information about eligible accounts, data handling and the service’s capabilities will be needed to judge what early access entails.
Haido says it expects to seek regulatory authorisation next year. The application and any decision would provide a clearer view of the service’s regulatory position, but no timetable beyond that stated plan has been announced. Until the company publishes more detail, its claims about accuracy and accountability remain commitments rather than demonstrated product performance.
Key Questions
What is Haido?
Haido is a planned AI wealth and personal-finance service founded by former Revolut employees Veronique Barbosa and Tom Reay. The company says users will be able to ask questions about their financial situation across accounts.
Has Haido launched?
No public launch date has been announced. Haido has opened a waitlist and says it plans to give 1,000 customers early access.
Who is backing the startup?
Finextra reports that Haido is backed by Eileen Burbidge and Laurence Twelvetrees. The report does not disclose the amount or terms of their backing.
Is Haido authorised to provide financial services?
The announcement says Haido plans to seek regulatory authorisation next year. It does not identify the regulator, specify the authorisation sought or confirm that an application has been filed.
What do waitlist members receive?
Haido says 1,000 customers will get early access. It also says those users can enter a free draw for £1,000 to be paid into an existing savings or investment account; complete eligibility and draw terms have not been provided.
Source: finextra.com
