Upgrade, Inc. is an American neobank founded in 2016.[2] It has raised $600 million in equity funding and made over $10 billion in loans since its launch in 2017.[3][4][5] Upgrade is headquartered in San Francisco, California with offices in Phoenix, Arizona and Montreal, Quebec, Canada.[6][7][8][9] The company offers credit and banking products to consumers and delivers fixed-rate credit cards and loans.[10][11] The company's other services include credit monitoring and education tools.[12][13][14][15]
Upgrade was founded by Renaud Laplanche, founder and former CEO of LendingClub, and other former colleagues from Lending Club in August 2016.[16][17] The company began offering loans in April 2017[18] and raised $60 million Series A funding round.[19][20][21]
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.[22][23]
In October 2019 Upgrade launched Upgrade Card, which combines credit card acceptance with installment payments flexibility.[4][2]
In June 2020, Upgrade received a $1 billion valuation in a Series D equity round led by Santander Group.[4]
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.[24]
In September 2021, the Nilson Report recognized Upgrade as the fastest-growing credit card in the US at the time.[25]
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.[26]