Plaid Raises $250M

Plaid Technologies , the San Francisco, CA-based company that builds APIs that allow consumers to interact with their bank accounts via a number of third-party applications, like Venmo, Robinhood, Betterment, Acorns etc., has raised $250m in a Series C round; bringing the company’s total funding to date to $309.3m.

“Today, we’re excited to announce that we’ve raised a $250M Series C to reinvest in the fintech ecosystem. With it, we’re planning to grow the team and expand our operations. We’re focused on shipping and scaling products that will both serve the growth and scale of these customers, and become the foundation for fintech for decades to come. The coming years will continue to bring major changes to the financial ecosystem. As digitization simplifies financial products, banking services are becoming increasingly self-contained and embeddable. Instead of visiting a bank branch to get a loan, consumers can now apply for a mortgage via their phone as they search for a home. Indeed, many companies—for example, those in the sharing economy—consider embedded banking products to be a key differentiator for their hosts, drivers, sellers, and suppliers. Every company is becoming a fintech company.” – Plaid’s blog.

Bottom Line: Eyeing insurance.