Upgrade, Inc. is an American
neobank
A neobank is a type of direct bank that operates exclusively using online banking without traditional physical branches. They challenge traditional banks. In contrast to direct banks, in many cases, neobanks do not have their own banking license ...
founded in 2016.
It has raised $600 million in equity funding and made over $37 billion in loans since its launch in 2017.
Upgrade is headquartered in San Francisco, California with offices in
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...
,
Irvine, California
Irvine () is a Planned community, planned city in central Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was named in 1888 for the landowner James Irvine. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the ...
,
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, and
Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
The company offers credit and banking products to consumers and delivers fixed-rate credit cards and loans.
The company's other services include credit monitoring and education tools.
Upgrade was founded by
Renaud Laplanche, founder and former CEO of
LendingClub, and other former colleagues from Lending Club in August 2016.
The company began offering loans in April 2017
and raised $60 million Series A funding round.
In April 2018, at the LendIt Conference in San Francisco, Upgrade announced a personal credit line for customers, a hybrid of a credit card and personal loan.
In October 2019 Upgrade launched Upgrade Card, which combines credit card acceptance with installment payments flexibility.
In June 2020, Upgrade received a $1 billion valuation in a Series D equity round led by
Santander Group.
In August 2021, Upgrade raised $105 million in a Series E funding round led by Koch Disruptive Technologies, valuing the company at $3.3 billion.
In September 2021, the Nilson Report recognized Upgrade as the fastest-growing credit card in the US at the time.
In November 2021, CNBC reported that Upgrade grew 83% in valuation over four months to $6.28 billion after raising $280 million in a Series F funding round led by Coatue Management and DST Global.
In July 2023, Upgrade acquired travel-focused BNPL provider Uplift for $100 million, expanding their strategy into travel as another vertical and another significant need of consumers.
In December 2024, Upgrade announced the rebranding of Uplift to Flex Pay, marking an exciting new chapter of growth, innovation, and expanded opportunities for customers and partners across the U.S. and Canada.
References
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Financial services companies established in 2016
Financial services companies based in California