Imprint raises $130M at $1.9B valuation to power retail loyalty cards
What's the deal? Imprint, a US fintech that builds co-branded credit cards for retailers, has raised $130 million at a $1.88 billion valuation. Positive SumDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the firm co-founded by Invest Like The Best host Patrick O'Shaughnessy, joined the round alongside existing backers Ribbit Capital, Thrive Capital, Kleiner Perkins, and Khosla Ventures.
What's the endgame? Imprint powers the cards that airlines, retailers, and grocery chains offer customers to spend more in exchange for rewards. Its clients now include top US retailers AlbertsonsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and KrogerDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, plus Shell — a sharp step up from three years ago, when it had signed Texas supermarket H-E-BDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and raised at a $240 million valuation.
Why now? Imprint's cardholder base has grown from about 15,000 three years ago to more than two million. Chief executive officer Daragh Murphy says the company expects to end the year at about $400 million in GAAP revenue, up 150%, while head count grew just 30%.
The new round lifts Imprint's valuation from $1.2 billion. "I don't think there's another fintech beyond RampDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → that's growing at the speed and scale that we're growing at," Murphy said.
By the numbers: The raise ranks among the larger late-stage fintech rounds in the US, landing in roughly the 93rd percentile by size against 1,000 comparable deals.
What could go wrong? Retailers want more direct ways to tie rewards to spending, but past high-profile co-branded card programs have sometimes failed to deliver expected returns. Imprint's scale and financing access are notable, though they do not by themselves prove the programs' long-term economics.
The signal: As retailers chase tighter links between loyalty and spend, the infrastructure behind their cards is becoming a venture bet of its own — and Imprint is positioning itself as a core supplier.
Read more: upstartsmedia.com
Image credit: Imprint
