Plaid is a US-based financial technology company that helps customers connect their financial accounts to their apps for financial purposes such as budgeting, asset management, and more. Recently, Plaid raised a $425 million Series D from Altimeter Capital following Visa’s acquisition of it in 2020. These funds will further Plaid’s mission to make money easier for everyone.
Look closer at Plaid’s journey and what this Altimeter investment means for the company.
Plaid raises $425M Series D from Altimeter as it charts a post-Visa future
Plaid is a leading financial technology company, founded in 2013 by Zach Perret and William Hockey. Its innovative technology platform enables consumers to securely connect their financial accounts to the apps they use most — like Venmo, Robinhood and Acorns — to better manage their financial lives.
Since launching, Plaid has quickly grown to more than 700 employees, expanding beyond its initial mission of powering fintech applications. Today, it serves over 11,000 customers including banks, investors, lenders and fintechs.
Plaid’s recent Altimeter Capital investment will help the company expand its presence worldwide and drive the development of new products that provide even better access to financial data. These advancements will create an even more comprehensive platform for connecting users with their finances in an accessible way that helps them stay informed on spending power and budgeting capabilities.
Recent Developments
In the last few months, Plaid has made several noteworthy steps towards innovation as a financial technology. In April, the company announced its third investment round since its launch in late 2012, which included an additional $44 million in venture capital from major investors such as RRE Ventures, Formation 8 and Intercontinental Ventures. This recent influx of capital brings Plaid’s total revenues to more than $80 million, putting Plaid in the exclusive “unicorn” club that has gained the most from private investors to reach a market capitalization of at least one billion dollars.
Plaid was also busy revamping their products for consumers and developers this summer to keep up with the changing trends of the financial technology sector. To start with, Plaid recently revised and expanded their product lineup for developers by introducing Altimeter. Altimeter supports authenticating users’ bank accounts connected via social media services like Facebook or Twitter or public opinion polls platforms such as Survey Monkey, offering a single platform to integrate all these different types of data sources into third-party apps.
Additionally it was announced that Altimeter will be provided free of charge during its beta testing period, offering users new ways of managing their bank accounts securely directly within apps such as Mint or Venmo without having them print out documents and mail them in to more securely link their accounts with these apps.
Investment from Altimeter
Plaid just announced that Altimeter has led a $425 million Series D from the fintech. This investment comes as Plaid looks forward to charting a post-Visa future after Visa announced its intention to acquire the company last week.
Altimeter is a well-respected venture capital firm that has invested in various companies in technology, healthcare and finance sectors. This significant investment could have significant impact on Plaid’s future.
Amount of Investment
On Wednesday, February 14th, 2018, Altimeter Capital Management LLC announced that it would lead the Series C financing for Plaid Technologies Inc., a financial services data platform enabling apps and financial institutions to securely access consumers’ bank account information. The capital in this investment round was reported to total $250M. The Series C was led by existing investor Andreessen Horowitz and new backer Altimeter Capital who joined Goldman Sachs, Spark Capital and NEA in providing venture capital to Plaid. Through this investment round, Plaid was awarded a company valuation of $2.65B.
This influx of capital marks the largest single-round financing secured by an American fintech startup. It will enable Plaid to accelerate their mission of building infrastructure technology that helps innovative fintech companies better serve their customers. This announcement comes just nine months after Plaid’s $44M Series B funding round led by Mary Meeker’s Bond fund in May 2017 which valued thecompany at nearly 1 billion US dollars at the time.
The additional capital will enable Plaid to continue building its nationwide presence and grow its suite of products -Plaid Auth, a secure authentication service; Link, an easey-to-integrate customer onboarding tool; Balance Life well identity for banking apps; Transaction History retrieval tool; Link Muti-Factor Authentication field service; Asset And Investment statement downloader; Balance Updating functionality on an ongoing basis – as expected features within their product line while also providing some flexibility for potential acquisition opportunities down the line.
What Does it Mean for Plaid?
The strategic investment from Altimeter Capital in Plaid signals a deepening commitment to the fintech sector and its growing potential. The capital infusion will allow Plaid to bolster its existing product, integrate new features, and create even more payment and financial information APIs.
Plaid has consistently been at the forefront of data aggregation in the rapidly-developing payments landscape, providing the building blocks for fintech companies to grow. The continued support from Altimeter strengthens this position by offering a unique set of knowledge and resources that can further accelerate innovation within the sector.
The funding will also allow Plaid to expand its geographic reach by quickly scaling up new initiatives in Europe, Asia and South America – furthering their mission to make money easier for everyone.
The injection of fresh capital also comes with an essential recognition of Plaid’s success thus far, empowering the company with the knowledge that it is on track for continued profitable growth.
Plaid’s Post-Visa Future
This week, financial services fintech Plaid raised a $425 million Series D from Altimeter to chart a post-Visa future. This investment will allow Plaid to expand its services into smaller markets and further build its technology stack and data infrastructure.
With this new round of funding, the company can focus on creating new products and services to serve its customers. But, first, let’s look at what this new round of funding means for Plaid moving forward.
What is Plaid’s Vision?
Plaid is a financial technology company that enables developers to easily integrate with banks and other financial institutions to build useful applications. Since its launch in 2013, the company has become popular for developers building fintech apps, payment programs and open banking products. This month, Plaid announced its first major investment from Altimeter Capital – a move that could significantly alter the trajectory of its future operations.
The investment could give Plaid the capital needed to realize their long-term vision of creating a new financial infrastructure. Through their platform, they are working to democratize access to the financial system by making it easier for consumers and businesses to track and manage their finances. Additionally, they are focused on giving people more control over their data so they can securely access their banking details whenever necessary.
Plaid’s commitment to creating frictionless transactions between people, businesses and banks has already opened up exciting possibilities within the world of finance – including enabling faster payments across borders and introducing new ways for consumers to access credit information without going through traditional credit checks. With this new influx of capital, Plaid looks forward to expanding its global reach to make these benefits available worldwide.
What are the Implications of Plaid’s Investment from Altimeter?
Plaid’s recent investment from Altimeter has considerable implications for their future. This article will examine these implications and why they are so important.
The most obvious implication of the Altimeter investment is the financial security it grants Plaid. A reported $250 million added to their coffers allows Plaid to expand operations more confidently and consider more risk when introducing new products or services. This can lead to stronger customer relationships and better engagement with customers who may purchase more of their products or services.
The Altimeter investment also signals a shift towards creating an even deeper integration between banks, credit unions, and fintech institutions. This could mean improved unifying initiatives that bring different fintech services and products together to create a smoother, better unified experience for customers transacting with all financial institutions on one platform, removing any fragmentation or difficulty when customers navigate between these entities.
Finally, the funds provided by Altimeter may also signal a return to innovation for Plaid which could mean exciting new features that set them apart from their competitors and improved backend infrastructure that runs more efficiently than ever. Increased innovation is typically beneficial to businesses in terms of increased customer traffic and retention and winning over new customers who may have been intimidated by the complexity typically associated with financial services — something Plaid could be poised to revolutionize through smart decision-making surrounding this sizable influx of capital.
Conclusion
Plaid’s recent $425 million Series D from Altimeter Capital is a testament to the potential and value of the company as it charts its post-Visa future.
The new funding will fuel growth and innovation as Plaid plans to expand its current products and offerings, build and strengthen its partnerships, and focus on its mission of creating an inclusive financial system for everyone.
In conclusion, Plaid’s new funding round shows the company’s potential and a great opportunity to further its mission.
Summary of Plaid’s Investment from Altimeter
Plaid’s recent investment from Altimeter has offered a significant financial boost for the company. The cash infusion allows Plaid to pursue various strategic initiatives, such as expanding their engineering capabilities and widening product integration partnerships. This will help Plaid continue as a leader in the FinTech industry—enhancing digital banking experiences worldwide. Ultimately, this investment allows Plaid to further expand their platform, allowing them to remain ahead of the curve in a rapidly changing digital landscape.
This new capital also provides Plaid with more resources to pursue previously difficult projects, such as custom enterprise software integrations and establishing international personnel on the ground. As a result, Plaid can better equip itself to monetize its extensive user base and catalyze global adoption of financial technology innovation. Altimeter’s investment is evidence of real financial value that extends beyond just currencies and trading, enabling companies like Plaid to provide valuable services by connecting people directly into the global economy faster than ever before.
What Does the Future Hold for Plaid?
The Altimeter investment into Plaid is a sign that the company wants to expand and capitalize on its reputation as a leader in the fintech space. With this strategy in place, Plaid can pursue new partnerships and investments, thus enabling them to explore more disruptive technologies for their platform.
Plaid is poised to become a more powerful player in the financial data marketplace. Much of this power comes from their ability to access high-value data sources, such as payment processors, account holders and personal finance technology providers. As they build relationships with more partners, they can offer dynamic capabilities across various industries.
Going forward, it’s clear that Plaid has ambitious plans on how they want to use the funds from the Altimeter investment. The goal is most likely two-fold: expansion and innovation. First and foremost, Plaid is likely looking at potential partnerships or acquisitions abroad to capitalize on international markets such as East Asia. Additionally, the company has numerous strategic initiatives in which it can invest resources to develop innovative products and services for existing partners or new customers down the line.
Overall, it appears that Plaid’s future is bright and that this funding will help many forthcoming endeavors bring real benefits for users across several industries. Moreover, as Plaid continues on its trajectory for growth, placement of capital into valuable markets could reshape their sector—and our relationship with our money—in meaningful ways for years to come.
tags = raised a $425 million Series D, consumers’ bank accounts to financial applications, new capital infusion, $5.3 billion sale to the larger company, plaid 425m altimeter 13.4bwilhelmtechcrunch, plaid altimeter capital 13.4bwilhelmtechcrunch, plaid 425m series altimeter 13.4bwilhelmtechcrunch
