Grasshopper raises $30.4 million

Commercial, digital bank Grasshopper Bank has recently closed a $30.4 million funding round, bringing its total funding to $161 million.

While the majority of this funding came from existing investors, including Patriot Financial Partners, Endeavour Capital Advisors, FJ Capital Management and Carpenter & Company, Grasshopper has also attracted a new investor – GCP Capital Partners.

“We are very pleased with the support of this experienced group of investors. Our strategic direction is set. Therefore, the new capital will further support our growth and solidify our ability to provide clients with leading-edge technology and personalized digital banking solutions across the business and innovation economies.” – Mike Butler, CEO of Grasshopper.

Since Butler took the helm as CEO of Grasshopper in May 2021 and expanded its management team later that year, Grasshopper has:

• Added three new business lines predominantly supporting the SMB market from a lending perspective (Commercial Real Estate, SBA Lending, and Yacht Financing), while maintaining support of its Venture Banking division;
• Added two new deposit gathering business lines, which include Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) and SMB Banking;
• Launched a BaaS platform, including a recently announced partnership with Treasure Financial;
• Developed digital banking tools for SMBs, including a digital business checking account, rewards debit card, instant-issue virtual debit cards, and seamless payment options;
• Partnered with fintech companies to rebuild its entire technology platform, from the core banking system and API middleware, to front-end digital account opening, digital banking and fraud prevention systems, to provide a more reliable, flexible and secure banking experience for clients;
• Grown its total employee headcount by 82% (from June 30, 2021 to June 30, 2022).

Bottom Line: The company operates in the space of Divvy, Brex and BlueVine.