Chime, the US-based digital bank operator that counts financial services firm Northwestern Mutual as an investor, is near to raising an undisclosed amount at a $5bn-plus valuation, Axios reported yesterday.
The valuation was echoed to Bloomberg by a person close to the matter, who said the round would likely be led by DST Global, the investment firm that led Chime’s $200m series D round in March this year.
Chime runs an app-based financial services platform that hit the 5 million accounts mark last month, having reached 3 million accounts in March this year and 4 million in June. It provides users with a debit card and recently unveiled an overdraft alternative called Chime SpotMe.
The prospective valuation would represent a significant leap from the $1.5bn valuation at which the company closed the March round, which included General Atlantic, Coatue Management, Iconiq Capital and Dragoneer Investment Group.
Northwestern Mutual’s corporate venture capital unit, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, took part in Chime’s $70m series C round in January 2018, which valued it at $500m.
Menlo Ventures led the round, which also featured Aspect Ventures, Cathay Innovation, Forerunner Ventures, Crosslink Capital and Omidyar Network.
The company had received $18m in a 2017 series B round led by Cathay Innovation and backed by Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, Aspect Ventures, Omidyar Network and existing investors Crosslink Capital, Forerunner Ventures and Homebrew, taking its total funding to $35m. PivotNorth Capital is also an early investor.
Photo courtesy of Chime.
