Credit and mobile banking platform Upgrade, Inc. on Tuesday (Nov. 16) announced it has raised $280 million in a Series F fundraising round led by Coatue Management and DST Global, and is now at a $6 billion pre-money valuation.
Other companies participating in Upgrade’s fundraising round include Dragoneer Investment Group and existing investors Gopher Asset Management, G-Squared, Koch Disruptive Technologies, Old Well Partners, Ribbit Capital, Sands Capital, Ventura Capital and Vy Capital.
“This new round comes just four months after our Series E and demonstrates Upgrade’s rapid growth and commitment to delivering innovative financial products that benefit consumers,” said Renaud Laplanche, co-founder and CEO of Upgrade.
Upgrade Card “promotes responsible credit by turning every balance into a fixed-rate installment plan, and by paying rewards to cardholders as they pay down their balance,” according to the company announcement.
Upgrade has delivered more than $10 billion in affordable credit to consumers through cards and loans since it launched in 2017 and is expected to deliver $8 billion this week.
The company debuted a Rewards Checking account with a 2% cash-back debit card reward to consumers on everyday expenses. Upgrade also recently launched the Bitcoin Rewards Card, a credit card that pays rewards in bitcoin.
The company has raised $600 million in equity capital since it was launched. Financial Technology Partners LP and FTP Securities LLC (FT Partners) was financial and strategic advisor to Upgrade in this transaction.
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