Pinwheel raises $50 million

Payroll connectivity startup Pinwheel has raised $50 million in a Series B round led by GGV Capital, with continued participation from Coatue, First Round Capital, and Upfront Ventures, as well as new investments from strategic partners including AMEX Ventures, Indeed, Kraken Ventures, Franklin Templeton, and more.

Founded in 2018, Pinwheel offers an API that allows businesses to obtain payroll data for different use cases such as verifying the income and employment of an individual.

The startup works with its customers including Block (formerly Square), Varo, Lendly, and Daylight.

“With this latest round so closely following our Series A, we’re poised to rapidly scale and introduce new solutions that will change finance as we know it. I’m particularly passionate about addressing the vicious cycle of paycheck-to-paycheck-living that plagues almost 80% of people in the United States, by developing products that will power EWA and dynamic lending opportunities. I look forward to a world where people are proactively offered new terms of payment for a personal loan should they lose their job, or earlier access to their paycheck in a time of crisis instead of facing payday loan sharks.” – Kurtis Lin, co-founder, and CEO of Pinwheel.

“Pinwheel’s API unlocks the power of the income layer, driving the next wave of innovation in the fintech ecosystem. Pinwheel has the ability to impact every American that receives a paycheck. Such an immense opportunity, coupled with the company’s mission to build a fairer financial system, uniquely positions Pinwheel to reshape so many people’s financial lives in a positive way. We are proud to partner with them on this journey.” – Tiffany Luck of GGV Capital.