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§ Private Profile · Chicago, IL, USA
Financial technology company offering a mobile app for underserved debit card users to earn cash back and monetize spending data.
Based in Chicago, Illinois, Bridge Money is a financial technology company that provides a mobile application allowing debit card users to earn cash back and supplemental income by monetizing their spending data. The platform targets underserved consumers, enabling them to generate rewards through gamified opportunities such as surveys, partner offers, and ad viewing without incurring debt. The enterprise currently operates with 26 employees and serves hundreds of thousands of members while generating under $5 million in annual revenue. Bridge Money has raised $5.8 million in total seed funding from a syndicate of venture capital firms that includes Founder Collective, Kapor Capital, and Acumen America. The company also maintains strategic partnerships with major financial infrastructure providers such as Plaid and Visa to facilitate its transaction tracking systems. The organization was founded in 2019 by Lalit Janak.
Bridge Money has raised $8.0M across 2 funding rounds.
Bridge Money has raised $8.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Bridge Money has raised $8.0M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $6.0M Seed in September 2022.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2022 | $6M Seed | TMV | Bain Capital Ventures, Battery Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Bread And Butter Ventures, Flex Capital, Founder Collective, Ignia Partners, IrishAngels, Matchstick Ventures, Motivate Ventures, Overline VC, Schematic Ventures, Social Starts, Sprout Social, Inc., Super{set}, Surface Ventures, ULU Ventures, Vitalize Venture Group, Aditya Raghupathy, Daren Cotter, Acumen America, Basecamp Fund, Kapor Capital, Plug And Play Ventures, Revolution | Announced |
| Aug 1, 2020 | $2M Seed | — | Bain Capital Ventures, Battery Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Bread And Butter Ventures, Flex Capital, Ignia Partners, IrishAngels, Matchstick Ventures, Motivate Ventures, Schematic Ventures, Social Starts, Super{set}, ULU Ventures, Vitalize Venture Group, Aditya Raghupathy, Daren Cotter | Announced |
Bridge Money is a Chicago-based fintech startup that operates a mobile app enabling users to earn cash back, rewards, and extra income by linking debit cards or bank accounts, participating in surveys, games, and partner offers. It serves everyday consumers, particularly those underserved by traditional banking, by monetizing their transaction data and providing easy cash-out options to bank accounts or gift cards, solving the problem of limited financial upside from routine spending.[2][3][5][6] The company partners with Blue Ridge Bank N.A. (Member FDIC) for banking services and has raised $5.8 million in funding, showing strong early momentum as a venture-backed firm with over 100 million coins earned by members.[3][5]
Bridge Money was co-founded by Lalit Janak (CEO), David Wright, and Brian Hill, launching as a mobile-first banking alternative aimed at financially underserved communities in Chicago.[2] The idea emerged from recognizing barriers to economic mobility for those excluded by traditional banks, evolving into a rewards platform that lets users profit from their spending data—a "first-of-its-kind" approach highlighted in its $5.8 million funding round in 2022.[2][6] Early traction came from venture backing by firms like Lofty Ventures, focusing on data-sharing to build wealth in overlooked demographics.[2][3][6]
Bridge Money rides the open banking and data economy wave, where fintechs leverage user-permissioned data for personalized finance amid rising demand for inclusive tools in underserved U.S. communities.[1][2][6] Timing aligns with post-2022 growth in rewards apps and regulatory shifts enabling data sharing, fueled by market forces like inflation-pressured consumers seeking side income and Big Tech's data commoditization.[3][6] It influences the ecosystem by pioneering consumer data ownership, potentially inspiring similar platforms while challenging banks to innovate beyond fees.
Bridge Money's trajectory points to scaling its rewards engine into a full neobank for the underbanked, with trends like AI-driven personalization and embedded finance accelerating adoption. Expect expansion via more partnerships and premium features as stablecoin integrations or global data markets emerge, solidifying its role in democratizing financial data profits—echoing its core mission to bridge everyday people toward wealth.[2][4][5]
Bridge Money has raised $8.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Bridge Money's investors include TMV, Bain Capital Ventures, Battery Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Bread and Butter Ventures, Flex Capital, Founder Collective, IGNIA Partners, IrishAngels, Matchstick Ventures, Motivate Ventures, Overline VC.