Fundbox, the AI-powered financial platform for small businesses, has closed a $100M Series D funding round at a $1.1 billion valuation. This latest round was led by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP), joined by existing investors Allianz X, Khosla Ventures, and The Private Shares Fund, and also supported new investors including Arbor Waypoint Select Fund and a suite of BNY Mellon funds managed by Newton Investment Management North America.
The financing comes as Fundbox crosses a $100 million annual revenue run rate; sees new customer acquisition growth of more than 200 per cent thus far this year; and expands into payments. Fundbox has also surpassed $2.5 billion in transaction volume and connected with more than 325,000 businesses since its founding in 2013.
“Over the past two years, we’ve seen how critical small businesses are to powering the economy. At the same time, we’ve seen a rise in innovative financing approaches that have greatly impacted consumer behavior,” said HOOPP VP Shrirang Apte. “Fundbox’s strong performance this year speaks to the market opportunity in disrupting the highly underserved world of small business financing, which has traditionally lagged behind consumer financing innovations. As a result, Fundbox is well positioned to unlock growth for small businesses and help support the country’s economic recovery.”
Fundbox also announced it is expanding its product platform and moving into payments with the launch of Flex Pay. Flex Pay is designed to provide small business owners with additional payment options and flexibility for business expenses, and Fundbox Line of Credit customers now get three extra days to pay them. Repayment options include a bank account, credit card, or line of credit draw. On the roadmap for 2022 are offerings expected to generate a subscription revenue stream, and one the company said is designed specifically for entrepreneurs with multiple small businesses and new businesses that lack the financial history to access capital through traditional means.
“Fundbox is primed for continued growth as we approach a once-in-a-decade opportunity to drive the recovery and expansion of the small business economy,” said Fundbox CEO Prashant Fuloria. “The addition of Flex Pay to our product offerings is critical as small business owners look to utilize buy now, pay later solutions for business. We remain committed to leveraging our superior AI, data-native approach, and small business insights to solve working capital needs and power the resurgence of the small business economy.”
Several new hires were also announced. New VP and head of partnerships Khary Scott moves over from Capital One, where he led a team that executed partnerships totalling north of $20 billion in assets. VP of finance Renuka Navani now leads the strategic finance, financial planning and analysis (FP&A), and corporate development teams. She previously spent six years leading the personal loans FP&A team at Oportun.
Rina Jariwala, the new VP of sales and operations and GM of Dallas, joins Fundbox with almost two decades of leadership experience in the valuation and credit space, including roles at Countrywide Home Loans, Bank of America, and CoreLogic. Another former Capital One staffer, Shawn Haigh, is now VP of growth marketing.
