Ramp has secured a valuation of $22.5 billion in a late-stage round, it said on Wednesday, marking a nearly 41% jump in just over a month as fintech funding rebounds after a years-long slump.
The New York-based company, which offers corporate cards, payment services and expense management applications, raised $500 million in the latest funding round, led by investment firm ICONIQ, taking its total equity financing to $1.9 billion.
Existing investors Founders Fund, GIC, Coatue, General Catalyst also participated in the fundraising.
Ramp‘s valuation has climbed from $13 billion in March to $16 billion in June and to $22.5 billion now, indicating renewed investor interest in financial platforms that offer digital and artificial intelligence-based services. The company said it began generating cash flow earlier this year.
“Ramp‘s spectacular ramp in such a short period is another indicator that the fintech ice age has thawed, especially for firms already printing cash and selling AI-flavored picks-and-shovels to CFOs,” said Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital.
Earlier this month, the company launched its first set of AI agents, which help clients in flagging fraud, updating policies as well as reviewing and approving transactions. It said it aims to accelerate the rollout with the fresh capital.
Industry leaders have hailed the transformative potential of AI agents, given their ability to automate complex business processes.
Ramp has more specialised agents coming in the next year as it looks to reduce manual tasks faced by finance teams.
“Pair positive cash flow with a credible AI story and your valuation can ramp fast,” Schulman said.
Founded in 2019, Ramp enables tens of billions in purchases annually. It caters to more than 40,000 companies, including commercial real estate firm CBRE, and defence technology company Anduril.
Reuters
