# Brian Barnes

> Brian Barnes is the founder and CEO of M1, a Chicago-based personal finance platform that blends investing, borrowing, and spending into one automated 'finance super app.' He started investing in the fifth grade with a real brokerage account opened by his parents, studied economics at Stanford, and launched M1 in 2016 after concluding that the tools for managing money had barely improved in two decades. M1 has raised more than $320 million, reached unicorn valuation, and grown to roughly a million members and billions in assets under management.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at M1
- **Organizations:** M1, M1 Holdings, M1 Finance
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA in Economics, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Founded M1 and grew it into a fintech unicorn valued around $1.5 billion, Raised more than $320 million in total venture funding across rounds through Series E, Built a platform managing billions of dollars in assets for roughly one million members

## Career timeline

- **~2000** — Begins investing in the fifth grade with a real brokerage account opened by his parents after a school stock-market project
- **2012** — Graduates from Stanford University with a degree in economics; works at an equity hedge fund and in management consulting
- **2016** — Founds M1 Finance in Chicago and launches the platform in late 2016
- **2017** — Raises early venture funding (about $9 million) to scale the platform
- **2021** — Acquires First National Bank of Buhl, a small Minnesota bank, to expand into banking; M1 raises $150 million Series E
- **2025** — M1 reports more than $12 billion in assets under management and over one million members

## Achievements

- Founded M1 and grew it into a fintech unicorn valued around $1.5 billion
- Raised more than $320 million in total venture funding across rounds through Series E
- Built a platform managing billions of dollars in assets for roughly one million members
- Named to Crain's Chicago Business 40 Under 40
- Acquired a federally chartered bank to expand M1 into banking services

## Latest updates

- **2025-11** — M1 reports surpassing $12 billion in assets under management and one million members.
- **2024-11** — Barnes appears on the Sound Investing podcast discussing the genesis and vision of M1.

## Links

- Website: https://m1.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-barnes-m1
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/m1_finance
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thinkm1/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/brian-barnes
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-14