US-based consumer credit provider Upgrade secured $280m yesterday in a series F round featuring Koch Disruptive Technologies, an investment subsidiary of chemical and energy conglomerate Koch Industries, at a pre-money valuation of $6bn.
Coatue Management and DST Global co-led the round, which included Dragoneer Investment Group, G-Squared, Gopher Asset Management, Old Well Partners, Sands Capital, Ribbit Capital, Ventura Capital and Vy Capital. It brings the company’s total funding to $600m, it said.
Founded in 2017, Upgrade provides an online banking service offering consumer credit services through credit cards and loans, with features such as fixed-rate instalment plans and rewards.
Koch Disruptive Technologies had previously led the company’s $105m series E round in August this year that also featured BRV Capital and Ventura Capital. It has since nearly doubled what was then a $3.3bn pre-money valuation.
Santander InnoVentures, the strategic investment subsidiary of financial services firm Santander since spun off into Mouro Capital, led a $40m series D round in June 2020 with backing from Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), Ribbit Capital, Union Square Ventures (USV), Uncorrelated Ventures, Vy Capital and Ventura Capital.
Upgrade had raised $62m in a 2018 series C round led by online lending platform CreditEase’s Fintech Investment Fund that also featured Ribbit Capital, Sands Capital Ventures, SVB, Vy Capital, Apoletto, FirstMark Capital, USV and Noah Holdings.
The company had previously secured $60m in equity and convertible note financing in a 2017 series A round which included CreditEase, SVB, Noah Holdings, Apoletto, FirstMark, Sands Capital Ventures, Uprising, Vy Capital, USV and Ribbit Capital.
Upgrade’s co-founder and chief executive Renaud Laplanche said: “We are thrilled to partner with DST, Coatue and Dragoneer.
“This new round comes just four months after our series E and demonstrates Upgrade’s rapid growth and commitment to delivering innovative financial products that benefit consumers”.
