{"id":1893,"date":"2025-10-17T04:13:59","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T04:13:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/fintech-startup-upgrade-valued-at-7-3-billion-in-new-funding-round\/"},"modified":"2025-10-17T04:13:59","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T04:13:59","slug":"fintech-startup-upgrade-valued-at-7-3-billion-in-new-funding-round","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/fintech-startup-upgrade-valued-at-7-3-billion-in-new-funding-round\/","title":{"rendered":"Fintech startup Upgrade valued at $7.3 billion in new funding round"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div id=\"RegularArticle-ArticleBody-5\" data-module=\"ArticleBody\" data-test=\"articleBody-2\" data-analytics=\"RegularArticle-articleBody-5-2\"><span class=\"HighlightShare-hidden\" style=\"top:0;left:0\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"InlineImage-imageEmbed\" id=\"ArticleBody-InlineImage-106950257\" data-test=\"InlineImage\">\n<div class=\"InlineImage-wrapper\">\n<div>\n<p>Upgrade CEO Renaud Laplanche speaks at a conference in Brooklyn, New York, in 2018.<\/p>\n<p>Alex Flynn | Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>Upgrade, the online lender started by <span class=\"QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer\" data-test=\"QuoteInBody\" id=\"RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-1\">LendingClub<span class=\"QuoteInBody-inlineButton\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer\" id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\" data-analytics-id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\"><button class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistButton\" aria-label=\"Add To Watchlist\" data-testid=\"dropdown-btn\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag\"\/><\/button><\/span><\/span><\/span> founder Renaud Laplanche, has raised a new round of funding that values the startup at $7.3 billion.<\/p>\n<p>The company said in a press release on Thursday that it raised $165 million in a round led by Neuberger Berman, with participation from LuminArx Capital Management. Laplanche, who created Upgrade in 2016, said it&#8217;s the first time the company has raised money since 2021. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve been cash flow positive over the past three years, so we didn&#8217;t have to do a new round,&#8221; Laplanche said in an interview. <\/p>\n<p>Upgrade got its start offering relatively small personal loans, operating in a similar market as LendingClub. The company has since expanded deeper into financial services with checking and savings accounts, a credit card, credit health monitoring and a buy now, pay later offering. In 2023, Upgrade acquired BNPL travel company Uplift for $100 million.<\/p>\n<p>Revenue has more than doubled since the company&#8217;s last fundraise, Laplanche said, and annualized revenue passed $1 billion in May.<\/p>\n<p>Laplanche, who took LendingClub public in 2014, said Upgrade is looking to IPO but wanted additional capital for its balance sheet in the meantime. He said the company is also establishing a new valuation as it begins to offer employee liquidity. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We were probably 12 to 18 months away from an IPO at this stage,&#8221; he said. &#8220;So we wanted to go ahead and make sure everyone could sell a little bit of stock now without having to wait for the IPO.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Although consumer lending is still dominated by traditional banks like <span class=\"QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer\" data-test=\"QuoteInBody\" id=\"RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-4\">JPMorgan Chase<span class=\"QuoteInBody-inlineButton\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer\" id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\" data-analytics-id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\"><button class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistButton\" aria-label=\"Add To Watchlist\" data-testid=\"dropdown-btn\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag\"\/><\/button><\/span><\/span><\/span>, Laplanche said the majority of Upgrade&#8217;s customers are migrating from the legacy banks to take advantage of more automated and faster services.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This year, we&#8217;re focusing mostly on making the customer experience make sense across multiple products and making sure that the customer who might have joined Upgrade through a BNPL product has a very seamless experience,&#8221; Laplanche said.<\/p>\n<p>The company has also been focusing on home improvement and auto financing, areas that surpassed $2 billion and $1 billion, respectively, in total loan originations earlier this year.<\/p>\n<p>Competition is rising across the board. <\/p>\n<p><span class=\"QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer\" data-test=\"QuoteInBody\" id=\"RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-7\">Chime<span class=\"QuoteInBody-inlineButton\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer\" id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\" data-analytics-id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\"><button class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistButton\" aria-label=\"Add To Watchlist\" data-testid=\"dropdown-btn\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag\"\/><\/button><\/span><\/span><\/span>, which offers an array of online banking services, went public in June. <span class=\"QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer\" data-test=\"QuoteInBody\" id=\"RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-9\">SoFi<span class=\"QuoteInBody-inlineButton\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer\" id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\" data-analytics-id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\"><button class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistButton\" aria-label=\"Add To Watchlist\" data-testid=\"dropdown-btn\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag\"\/><\/button><\/span><\/span><\/span> has been gaining popularity. And fintech companies including <span class=\"QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer\" data-test=\"QuoteInBody\" id=\"RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-10\">PayPal<span class=\"QuoteInBody-inlineButton\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer\" id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\" data-analytics-id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\"><button class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistButton\" aria-label=\"Add To Watchlist\" data-testid=\"dropdown-btn\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag\"\/><\/button><\/span><\/span><\/span> and Square parent <span class=\"QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer\" data-test=\"QuoteInBody\" id=\"RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-11\">Block<span class=\"QuoteInBody-inlineButton\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer\" id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\" data-analytics-id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\"><button class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistButton\" aria-label=\"Add To Watchlist\" data-testid=\"dropdown-btn\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag\"\/><\/button><\/span><\/span><\/span> have been adding more banking services to their portfolios. <\/p>\n<p>Within BNPL, there&#8217;s <span class=\"QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer\" data-test=\"QuoteInBody\" id=\"RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-12\">Affirm<span class=\"QuoteInBody-inlineButton\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer\" id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\" data-analytics-id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\"><button class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistButton\" aria-label=\"Add To Watchlist\" data-testid=\"dropdown-btn\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag\"\/><\/button><\/span><\/span><\/span> and <span class=\"QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer\" data-test=\"QuoteInBody\" id=\"RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-13\">Klarna<span class=\"QuoteInBody-inlineButton\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer\" id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\" data-analytics-id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\"><button class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistButton\" aria-label=\"Add To Watchlist\" data-testid=\"dropdown-btn\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag\"\/><\/button><\/span><\/span><\/span>, which held its IPO last month. <\/p>\n<p>Laplanche said Upgrade&#8217;s focus in BNPL has been in the travel industry, through relationships with airlines, cruise lines, car rental companies and hotels. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a pretty specific industry that&#8217;s different from retail, where Klarna and Affirm are stronger,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>WATCH:<\/strong> Trust is the key to unlocking real-time payments<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"Placeholder-ArticleBody-Video-108208636\">\n<div role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" id=\"Placeholder-ArticleBody-Video-108208636\" class=\"PlaceHolder-wrapper\" data-vilynx-id=\"7000391225\" data-test=\"VideoPlaceHolder\">\n<div class=\"InlineVideo-videoEmbed\" id=\"InlineVideo-0\" data-test=\"InlineVideo\">\n<div class=\"InlineVideo-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"InlineVideo-inlineThumbnailContainer\"><span class=\"InlineVideo-videoButton\"\/><span\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Upgrade CEO Renaud Laplanche speaks at a conference in Brooklyn, New York, in 2018. Alex Flynn | Bloomberg via Getty Images Upgrade, the online lender started by LendingClub founder Renaud Laplanche, has raised a new round of funding that values the startup at $7.3 billion. The company said in a press release on Thursday that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1894,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[343,1857,1858,1127,337,1413],"class_list":["post-1893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-loan","tag-billion","tag-fintech","tag-funding","tag-startup","tag-upgrade","tag-valued"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1893\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}