Upward Raises $8M In Seed+ Funding Round

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Seattle-based Upward provides a unified fintech infrastructure platform for businesses to embed payments, cards, banking, and compliance tools, targeting underserved segments like gig workers and small businesses. Upward raised $8 million in a Series Seed+ round, bringing total funding to $12 million since its 2021 founding. Led by Dundee Venture Capital and Breakwater Ventures, with participation from Techstars, Altari Ventures, Cascade Seed Fund, Milwaukee Venture Partners, and Outside Ventures.

Upward’s latest Series Seed+ round reflects growing investor confidence in its mission to simplify embedded finance for non traditional businesses. The $8 million infusion includes fresh capital and conversions from prior convertible equity, signaling a bridge to further scaling. This funding positions Upward to accelerate platform development and expand its customer base, particularly in the gig economy where financial tools are often fragmented.

Key uses of proceeds include enhancing infrastructure for faster product launches and supporting compliance integrations, addressing pain points for clients like Seattle-based TipHaus and Solo, which embed instant pay and money management features via Upward’s APIs.

The Mastercard partnership stands out as a pivotal enabler, allowing Upward’s clients to deploy Mastercard branded cards in weeks rather than months. This includes access to programs like Easy Savings (rebates on purchases) and Business Builder (tools for entity formation, cybersecurity, and credit insights), which align with Upward’s focus on credit building for hourly workers and creators. Such alliances could boost adoption rates, as evidenced by Upward’s current processing of over $10 million in monthly payment volume with a 20 person team.

In a competitive landscape, this round underscores Upward’s differentiation through a single vendor approach, contrasting with multi partner models that slow innovation. It also highlights the founders’ Remitly pedigree, Aaron Gregory (CEO, ex General Counsel) and Danielle Hill (COO, ex Head of Global Operations) lending credibility in navigating regulatory hurdles.

Upward Financial, operating under the Upwardli brand, emerged in 2021 from the Seattle fintech ecosystem, founded by veterans of Remitly, a cross border payments unicorn that went public in 2021. The company’s core innovation lies in its developer friendly platform that consolidates payments, virtual and physical cards, banking services, and compliance into one API driven system. This eliminates the need for businesses to juggle multiple vendors, a common bottleneck in embedded finance.

Targeted at platforms serving independent workers, such as restaurant workforce tools or creator economies, Upward’s offerings include:

• Credit Builder Tools: Converts recurring payments into credit building opportunities to enhance user retention and lifetime value.
• Credit Builder Cards: Branded cards that generate revenue while helping users establish credit histories.
• Rent Reporting: Integrates rent payments into credit profiles, appealing to gig and hourly workers often overlooked by traditional lenders.
• Flexible APIs: Enable custom embeddings for quick market entry without heavy engineering lifts.

With a lean 20 person team, Upward has already achieved product market fit, powering financial features for clients in underserved verticals. Its evolution from a seed stage startup to this Seed+ milestone mirrors broader trends in fintech, where infrastructure providers are increasingly vital for scaling digital products.

This round builds on earlier investments, with total capital now at $12 million. While specifics on prior rounds remain limited, PitchBook data indicates approximately $4 million raised pre-2025, likely in an initial seed tranche supporting early platform builds.

The investor mix blends regional Seattle focus (Breakwater, Cascade) with accelerator expertise (Techstars), suggesting bets on both local talent and scalable tech.

Recommended: Lettuce Financial Raises $28M In Funding Led By Zeev Ventures

The Mastercard Partnership: A Game Changer

Announced concurrently, the Mastercard tie up integrates the payment giant’s network directly into Upward’s stack, slashing launch times for card programs from months to weeks. For small businesses and creators, this unlocks:

• Easy Savings: Automated rebates on everyday spends.
• Business Builder Suite: Entity formation, payment management, cybersecurity, and credit analytics.

As Gregory noted, “For too long, businesses that wanted to offer a financial product have had to choose between innovation, flexibility, and speed. This investment and our Mastercard partnership will help to tear down those barriers.” This move not only validates Upward’s tech but also positions it as a gateway for Mastercard’s expansion into embedded niches, potentially driving mutual volume growth.

Embedded finance, the integration of financial services into non financial platforms, continues its ascent, fueled by digital adoption among gig workers (projected to comprise 50% of the U.S. workforce by 2027). BCG’s September 2025 report pegs the North America/Europe TAM at $185 billion for core products like payments and lending, with annual revenues from transactions expected to grow 6% through 2029 amid instant payments and ecosystem expansions.

Upward enters this at an opportune moment: Post pandemic shifts have amplified demand for flexible tools, yet regulatory complexities (e.g., CFPB oversight on credit reporting) deter many entrants. The company’s compliance first approach mitigates these, enabling faster go to market for clients.

Upward differentiates in a crowded field by prioritizing underserved verticals over broad consumer apps. Direct peers include:

• StellarFi and MoneyLion: Focus on credit building for gig workers but lack Upward’s full stack infrastructure.
• Chime: Offers banking for independents but emphasizes direct to consumer over B2B embeddings.
• Broader Seattle fintechs like Possible Finance (lending) and Flyhomes (real estate finance) compete tangentially, while global players like Marqeta (card issuing) overlap on payments but require more integrations.

Upward’s edge: A unified platform reduces vendor sprawl, appealing to mid stage platforms like TipHaus. However, scaling against incumbents will hinge on API reliability and partnership depth.

Backers like Dundee and Breakwater signal faith in Seattle’s fintech resurgence, post Remitly’s success. Techstars’ involvement adds mentorship value, while regional funds underscore ecosystem ties. Social buzz on platforms like X highlights the round’s fintech infrastructure angle, with posts from outlets like FinTech Global amplifying reach.

With $12 million in the bank, Upward is poised for Series A pursuits, potentially valuing at $50-80 million based on embedded finance multiples (10-15x revenue). Expansion into Europe or deeper verticals (e.g., e-commerce) could follow, leveraging Mastercard’s global footprint. Risks include regulatory shifts (e.g., open banking mandates) and economic headwinds curbing gig spending, but the founders’ track record mitigates execution concerns.

This round cements Upward as a rising player in democratizing finance, empowering businesses to innovate without infrastructural drag. Its trajectory suggests sustained momentum in a market ripe for disruption.

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