Financial care company raises $35M Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz

San Francisco-based Brightside announced that it raised $35.1 million in Series A funding, led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) with participation from existing investors Comcast Ventures and Trinity Ventures, the a16z Cultural Leadership Fund, and others. This funding will be used to bring Brightside to more employers and families at a time when they need it most, and improve its financial health offering.

Founded in 2017, Brightside helps employers improve the financial health of their workforce by providing a single destination for employees to address any personal finance need. Brightside combines a human-approach to financial health via dedicated Financial Assistants, available to all employee families with advanced rules engines and unique products linked to paychecks in a way that provides real solutions to employees’ financial stress. On average, Brightside puts over $1,200 back in the pockets of the families they serve, according to the company.

“The cost to employers of poor employee financial health is staggering and point solutions, while good for some situations, often make the situation worse. We have proven that a holistic approach, combined with financial products built for this population, can have a significant effect on people’s lives and on the employer’s bottom line. This funding will help us bring Brightside to more families as more employers see real financial health as a crucial part of their health benefit package. Investing in employee financial health has a much greater benefit for the health and well-being of families than simply providing stop-gap financial relief.” – Tom Spann, CEO and co-founder of Brightside.

“Brightside is creating a new way to improve the financial health of working families, at a time when this endeavor is mission-critical to the future of our country. Employers are uniquely motivated and positioned to improve employee financial health, during business-as-usual and especially during times of economic crisis, but need a single platform that simply curates and integrates the myriad of point solutions in a way that really works for employees. With Brightside’s experienced management team and their unique approach of human navigation and tech, the opportunity to meaningfully improve families’ lives is tremendous. I’m excited to work with Brightside as they continue to develop and scale their platform.” – Alex Rampell, General Partner at a16z.