• Paddle raised $25 million in debt financing to support global expansion, product development, and executive growth.
• The funds, which come from CIBC Innovation Banking, bring Paddle’s total funding to $318 million.
• Along with the investment announcement, Paddle also unveiled new hires and plans to open an office in Austin.

Payments infrastructure company Paddle announced this week it has raised $25 million in debt financing from CIBC Innovation Banking and others. The investment, which follows a $293 million round in 2022 from FTV Capital, KKR, 83North, and Notion Capital, brings Paddle’s total funding to more than $318 million.

“We are delighted to fund Paddle as it continues on an impressive growth trajectory,” said CIBC Innovation Banking UK & Europe Managing Director Sean Duffy.

Paddle plans to use the funding to support global expansion, accelerate growth, and promote product development.

Paddle was founded in 2012 as a Merchant of Record (MoR) to handle payments, sales tax, refunds, fraud, and compliance for its clients. The UK-based company’s payment infrastructure replaces SaaS companies’ complex payment stacks by managing global payments, currencies, refunds, and sales tax compliance for 6,000 SaaS, AI, and app companies.

Along with today’s funding, Paddle also announced key executive hires. The company is adding to its 300+ employees with the appointments of Rich Mason as CRO International, Stephen Wilcock as CTO, and Ben Aronsten as CMO. Paddle is also opening a new office in Austin, adding to the company’s existing offices in London, Lisbon, Toronto, and New York City. 

“In an ever-connected world, it’s important that digital product companies can receive payment from customers in any location without the hassle of navigating multiple payment processes in different geographies. We are excited to support Paddle as it continues expanding its global footprint,” Duffy added.

Paddle has seen rapid growth in 2025, which it attributes to growth in new AI products and Apple opening its app ecosystem to web payments. The company has also recently unveiled new capabilities through a partnership with Vercel and integration with RevenueCat. Previously, the company has experienced 40% year-over-year growth and these factors will build on that.

“We are incredibly excited about the momentum Paddle has experienced so far in 2025,” said Paddle CEO Jimmy Fitzgerald. “We only win when those we serve win, and the growth we’re seeing across the market reflects that shared success. We are seeing a huge increase in the number of consumer app businesses choosing Paddle to manage their web monetization, and will continue to invest in this space with the new financing and strengthened leadership. We look forward to building on these achievements through the rest of the year and beyond as we continue to serve thousands of digital product companies worldwide.”

Paddle’s growth and fresh funding is an indication that SaaS and digital product companies are taking a new approach to global payments. As Gen AI and mobile-first implementation accelerate, companies need flexible infrastructure that handles compliance, tax, and localization without adding complexity. Paddle’s MoR approach is emerging as an alternative to fragmented payment stacks, especially as regulations tighten. Ultimately, today’s funding round and executive expansion show how Paddle is positioning itself not just as a payment provider, but as a strategic player in SaaS payments.

Photo by Andre Furtado

Debt collection startup Murphy announced this week that it closed $15 million in pre-Seed and Seed funds. The investment was led by Northzone, while ElevenLabs, Lakestar, Seedcamp, and existing investors also participated.

Founded in 2024, Murphy seeks to transform debt servicing by leveraging autonomous AI agents to help debt collection agents from utility companies, telcos, banks, BNPL companies, microlenders, healthcare firms, and more recover debt that would have otherwise been untouched or written off. The company uses voice agents and behavioral personalization techniques that work across channels, 24 hours per day and in more than 30 languages.

“We’re building AI-native infrastructure that replaces traditional call centers with a scalable, multilingual solution,” said Murphy Co-founder and CEO Borja Sole. “It helps companies recover more, faster, and more cost-efficiently, while staying compliant and treating debtors with respect.”

Murphy is tackling an often overlooked industry, as there has long been a disconnect between consumers’ digital behavior and how collections are handled. Bringing AI into the equation may help organizations collect previously unrecoverable debt, especially in high-volume, low-value cases. Murphy differentiates its product by taking a unique approach to AI implementation. It doesn’t simply use chatbots and scripted voice technologies, but rather employs agentic AI that is capable of multilingual, empathetic, and behavioral interactions that bring a human-like nuance to conversations that can scale without adding labor costs.

Since launching less than a year ago, Murphy is already managing hundreds of millions of dollars in debt. The company has acquired clients across Europe and plans to use today’s funding to accelerate its expansion across Europe and the US, scale its product, and expand its team.

“Debt servicing is a $300+ billion global industry that is ripe for disruption. After reviewing countless verticals, this stood out as a space where AI can make a major impact,” said Northzone Partner Jeppe Zink. “Given their experience and relentless development speed, Borja and his team are uniquely positioned to transform this space.”

Murphy is part of a larger wave of AI-powered services in the financial services space. Investors are pouring money into these companies in anticipation that AI-native vertical SaaS companies like Murphy will replace legacy systems in high-friction industries such as collections, compliance, and insurance.

Photo by Aleksandar Pasaric

• Bilt raised $250 million in new funding, boosting its total raised to $813 million and reaching a $10.75 billion valuation.
• The company is expanding its rewards program to cover more housing categories like condos, HOAs, student housing, and even mortgage payments through a partnership with new investor United Wholesale Mortgage.
• Bilt is also developing new credit card options, including a no-fee card and two premium tiers.

Loyalty platform Bilt received $250 million in new funding this week. The investment, which was led by General Catalyst and GID with additional funds coming from United Wholesale Mortgage, boosts the New York-based company’s total raised to $813 million.

Bilt was founded in 2021 to offer a loyalty rewards program and credit card that allows renters to earn points when they pay their rent, building credit with every payment. With no annual fee, the Bilt Mastercard credit card also allows cardholders to earn points on select dining experiences, rideshare purchases, and travel purchases. These points can be redeemed for travel, fitness classes, home decor, and even a down payment on a future home.

With today’s round, Bilt is also revealing its new valuation of $10.75 billion, representing more than a 3x increase in a single year. This new valuation reflects Bilt’s growth. The company anticipates it will surpass $1 billion in revenue by the first quarter of 2026 and will process over $100 billion annually in housing spend in the next six months. Additionally, the company’s network of homes has signed one in four US apartment buildings, partnering with 70% of the top 100 property managers. It has also added over 40,000 merchants across the US to its rewards network.

The company has expanded its network of merchant partnerships to make cardholders’ neighborhoods feel like their own members club. “Bilt represents the convergence of America’s largest spending categories—housing and local commerce—into a single, powerful network that benefits everyone involved,” said Bilt Chairman Ken Chenault. “What we’re building goes beyond the four walls of your apartment; we’re connecting you with your entire neighborhood and making every aspect of where you live more rewarding.”

Bilt is using the $250 million investment to grow the number of housing categories it is able to reward. The company is expanding into condo and HOA payments, student housing, and has also partnered with mortgage servicers–including today’s investor United Wholesale Mortgage–to expand into mortgage payments.

The company is also working on Bilt Card 2.0 in partnership with embedded credit card platform Cardless to offer a new, no-fee card option and two premium cards featuring $95 and $495 annual fees. Bilt didn’t offer additional details of the new card options, but teased the launch date of February 2026.

Photo by Tom Fisk

• Grifin raised $11 million in Series A funding to grow its investing app that allows users to invest where they shop, bringing its total funding to $20 million.
• The app uses Adaptive Investing to automatically invest $1 per purchase into companies users buy from, helping them build daily investing habits.
• Grifin targets underserved investors, especially women ages 40 to 60.

Approachable investing app Grifin announced that it raised $11 million this week to help users invest where they shop. The Series A funding round, which brings the company’s total raised to $20 million, was led by Nava Ventures with participation from TTV, Draper Associates, Gaingels, Nevcaut Ventures, and Alloy Labs.

Grifin will use today’s funding to hire employees, partner with HR platforms and consumer brands, build family plans, and build out more tools and experiences to add to the app.

“We are thrilled to partner with Grifin in their mission to make investing fit into the daily lives of people across the country,” said Freddie Martignetti, Partner at Nava Ventures. “With more than 178 million uninvested Americans, Grifin has the potential to make a remarkably positive impact by helping their app users lay the foundation for long-term wealth building.”

Martignetti will join Grifin’s Board of Directors.

Grifin was founded in 2017 to make investing fun by allowing shoppers to invest in a portion of the brands they purchase from. The company removes complexity and fear associated with investing by building an investment portfolio based on the consumer’s purchasing habits. Grifin automatically transfers $1 for every transaction the user makes during the week, then invests the funds into their portfolio that is comprised of companies from which the user purchases. Grifin calls this approach Adaptive Investing.

With Adaptive Investing, Grifin creates a dynamic investment portfolio that is uniquely personalized to the user and their everyday habits. As the user’s shopping habits change, Grifin adapts the portfolio. The company also offers users full control on how much and in which companies they invest, allowing them to block companies and manually adjust their investment amount.

“We have always believed that investing should be positive and fun. Where it doesn’t feel like a second job, it simply feels like second nature,” said Grifin CEO and Cofounder Aaron Froug. “Unlike traditional investing, Grifin instills confidence through action and connection. Our goal with Grifin is to build daily investment habits, different mindsets and change the relationship people have with the brands they love. This new funding enables us the fuel to scale a product that’s already proven its power to increase investing habits in a whole new way.”

Grifin is targeting the 86% of Americans that don’t directly own any stock, and says that its primary investor group is women between the ages of 40 and 60. The company has added 500,000 registered users and has seen more than 100,000 new app installs in the last month alone.

Grifin differs from investing companies like Acorns by focusing on emotional connection and brand loyalty rather than rounding up spare change. While Acorns emphasizes passive micro-investing based on leftover change, Grifin actively builds a portfolio based on where users actually shop, which turns consumer behavior into their personalized investment strategy. This approach not only builds financial habits but also helps users feel more connected to their investments, making the process more engaging and meaningful.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

• OpenTrade has raised $7 million in seed funding, boosting its total raised to $15.7 million.
• The company will use the funds to scale its “yield-as-a-service” stablecoin infrastructure platform.
• OpenTrade helps fintechs embed real-world asset-backed yields into digital wallets using USDC and EURC.

Stablecoin infrastructure-as-a-service platform OpenTrade received $7 million in a Seed round this week. The funds boost the UK-based company’s total raised to $15.7 million, $11 million of which has been secured within the past six months alone.

Today’s round was led by Notion Capital and Mercury Fund. Existing investors AlbionVC, a16z crypto, and CMCC Global also participated. In addition to today’s investor lineup, OpenTrade’s other investors include the likes of a16z Crypto and Circle.

“Notion and Mercury are exceptional B2B investors with a strong track record of backing category-defining companies, and we’re thrilled to partner with them,” said OpenTrade CEO Dave Sutter. “Combined with a16z’s leadership, and Albion and CMCC’s deep expertise, we have the network, experience, and momentum to scale globally and help unlock access to dollar-based savings for individuals historically outside the reach of traditional financial systems.”

OpenTrade aims to help businesses offer stable, reliable ways to earn yield using digital dollars (USDC) and euros (EURC). Founded in 2023, OpenTrade connects blockchain-based assets with traditional banking infrastructure to make earning interest on digital currencies simple, safe, and compliant. Its “yield-as-a-service” model that lets fintech clients including Belo, BuenBit, Littio, and Criptan embed yields that are backed by real-world assets into everyday user experiences.

Its easy-to-integrate tools allow fintech apps and digital wallets to offer yield products to their users at the click of a button, all secured by strong legal protections and institutional-grade operations. The company currently manages $47 million for clients and has processed nearly $200 million in transactions over the past year.

OpenTrade will use today’s funds to accelerate its go-to-market strategy by focusing on its product development, boosting its engineering capabilities, and increasing its operational capacity.

“OpenTrade is building core financial infrastructure for the next generation of fintech,” said Mercury Partner Samantha Lewis. “Their rapid growth underscores both the scale of demand and the strength of their model. They are solving a fundamental gap in the market with the potential to revolutionize global access to high-quality, yield-bearing accounts. It’s exactly the kind of high-conviction fintech opportunity we look for at Mercury.”

Stablecoin infrastructure is particularly impactful in geographies with unstable financial infrastructure that offers minimal yield and limited access to foreign currency accounts. In such regions, stablecoins not only provide a practical way to pay across borders, but they can also offer the opportunity for residents to earn a yield on savings. OpenTrade, for example, leverages a partnership with Littio to allow users in Colombia to earn up to 6% on USDC balances, when they have traditionally been limited to earning just 0.4% APR on funds held in traditional bank accounts.

OpenTrade’s latest funding round highlights growing investor confidence in the role stablecoins can play in democratizing access to financial services. As demand rises for yield-bearing products that are both secure and accessible across the globe, OpenTrade is poised to be a leader in the stablecoin infrastructure space.

Photo by anna-m. w.

• bolttech raised $147 million in a Series C round, bringing its total funding to over $690 million and boosting its valuation to $2.1 billion.
• Sumitomo joined as a strategic investor and partner, forming a joint venture with bolttech to expand embedded insurance across Asia.
• bolttech’s platform powers embedded insurance for industries like telecom, e-commerce, and banking, making insurance a seamless part of the digital buying experience.

Singapore-based insurtech company bolttech announced this week that it has closed its Series C round after raising $147 million.

Closing out today’s round were Sumitomo Corporation and Iberis Capital as strategic investors. The funds bring bolttech’s total funding to somewhere north of $690 million and boost the company’s valuation to $2.1 billion. Previous investors to the Series C round are Dragon Fund, Baillie Gifford, Generali’s Lion River, and others.

For its part, Sumitomo Corporation has not just become a strategic investor, but it has also entered a joint venture with bolttech to deliver embedded insurance programs for its Asia-based partners. This signals not only a financial endorsement but also a strategic distribution partnership in Asia, which is generally a region ripe for fintech growth.

“We are thrilled to join forces with bolttech—both as a strategic investor and through our joint venture,” said Sumitomo Group CEO of Media & Digital Group Shinichi Kato. “We are confident that this partnership will enable us to work closely with the bolttech team to drive growth and innovation across the Asia region.”

Founded in 2020, bolttech operates an embedded insurance platform. The company allows clients in telecom, banking, e-commerce, and retail to embed insurance offerings within their existing customer journeys. For example, a customer purchasing a mobile phone online might be offered device protection at checkout, powered by bolttech’s infrastructure. bolttech supports this with a modular tech stack that includes product recommendation engines, policy administration, claims management, and partner onboarding. The company works with hundreds of insurers and partners across industries, serving millions of customers in 37 markets across four continents.

bolttech anticipates that the Series C round will enable it to enhance the platform’s capabilities and accelerate its global growth strategy, making insurance more personalized, accessible, affordable, and convenient for customers.

“We are delighted to welcome our newest strategic investors Sumitomo Corporation and Iberis Capital as we successfully close our Series C,” said bolttech Group CEO Rob Schimek. “This investment is a strong endorsement of our unique business proposition, reinforcing our commitment to enabling a better insurance experience for customers worldwide. We are excited to continue our journey to build the future of insurance, working towards our vision of connecting people with more ways to protect the things they value.”

The funding shows increased interest in embedded insurance, which is rising to become one of the fastest-growing sectors within insurtech. As embedded finance matures, bolttech’s ability to plug insurance directly into partner platforms helps make insurance an invisible part of the digital customer experience.

Photo by Vlad Deep on Unsplash