The investment led by Bain Capital, with participation from Edward Jones, comes as new research points to the rising role of 401(k)s for younger generations’ retirement security.
Aboon, a fintech startup focused on simplifying 401(k) plan administration for financial advisors, has raised $17.5 million in seed funding led by Bain Capital Ventures.
The investment aims to support the launch and expansion of Aboon’s AI-powered platform, which is designed to help advisors more efficiently serve business owner clients seeking to offer workplace retirement plans.
The funding round announced on Thursday also included participation from Altai Ventures, Runyon, Edward Jones Ventures, Outpost Ventures, and EJF Ventures.
The announcement marks Aboon’s first public introduction since its founding in 2023 by Nick Gavronsky and Amy Ouellette, both veterans of the fintech and retirement plan sectors.
Aboon’s platform addresses a persistent challenge in the US retirement landscape: the complexity and inefficiency of setting up and managing 401(k) plans, especially for small businesses.
According to research from Pew, 43% of businesses with fewer than 100 employees do not offer a workplace retirement plan, despite recent regulatory efforts and state mandates intended to boost private sector retirement savings. Meanwhile, a 2024 Bankrate survey found that 57% of American adults worry they are behind on their retirement savings.
Gavronsky, Aboon’s CEO and co-founder, said the company was created after seeing “how hard it was for advisors to offer retirement plans, and how many businesses were left behind as a result.” He added that Aboon’s goal is to provide advisors with the tools they need to help more Americans access retirement plans through their trusted advisor relationships.
Aboon’s digital third-party administration platform combines AI-driven automation with digital workflows and real-time human expertise. The company says advisors can generate proposals in minutes and onboard new plans in a matter of days, a process that traditionally takes weeks or months.
The platform is already available to tens of thousands of advisors, including those at major firms such as Edward Jones, and integrates with recordkeepers like Capital Group, Empower, and Manulife John Hancock.
Matt Harris, partner at Bain Capital Ventures, described Aboon as “solving a huge pain point in an underserved but critical industry.” He said in the announcement that the next wave of retirement infrastructure will be “advisor-led, tech-enabled, and powered by AI.”
The company’s leadership draws on complementary backgrounds. A post on the Bain Capital Ventures website describes how Gavronsky, a serial entrepreneur, previously co-founded Trade Coffee and Welcome, and led data and AI product teams at BambooHR. Ouellette, who spent her career in retirement plan administration, brings technical expertise and industry relationships, helping Aboon align its technology with the needs of advisors and recordkeepers.
Aboon’s approach comes at a time when younger generations are increasingly looking to 401(k)s as a primary source of retirement income. New research from Cerulli shows that 58% of Generation Z and Millennial 401(k) participants expect their personal retirement accounts to be their main source of income in retirement, while only a small fraction expect to rely on Social Security. However, many participants remain disengaged from retirement planning, highlighting the need for tools that can improve engagement and outcomes.
Looking ahead, Aboon plans to use its new funding to enhance its digital and automation capabilities, expand its product offerings, and deepen partnerships with advisory firms and recordkeepers nationwide. The company’s leadership believes that by empowering advisors with better technology, more small businesses and their employees will gain access to retirement savings opportunities.
Edward Jones principal Greg Robinson noted that the firm is “investing in and supporting the development of technologies and solutions that solve client and industry needs,” with the aim of helping business owners and employees feel more confident about their financial futures.
