Latest news with #TribeCapital
Finextra
23-05-2025
- Business
- Finextra
Keep raises C$33m to build Canada's Brex
Keep, an all-in-one financial platform for small businesses, has emerged from stealth with C$33 million in equity financing to build a Canadian Brex. 0 Tribe Capital led the round, with participation from Rebel Fund, Liquid2 Ventures, Cambrian, Assurant Ventures and a host of angels including execs from the likes of Robinhood, Venmo, Stripe, Plaid, Chime, Coinbase, Ramp, and Alloy. The startup has also secured a C$71 million credit facility from Coventure and a C$4 million venture debt line from Silicon Valley Bank. Keep argues that Canada's $500 billion plus small business banking market remains dominated by legacy players offering outdated software, subpar customer service, and rigid underwriting processes that cripple firms' ability to flourish. While the likes of Brex, Mercury, and Ramp have made strides in the US, Canadian entrepreneurs have lacked similar options. Keep is vowing to bring this financial revolution north of the border with an offering specifically designed for Canadian tax systems, banking regulations, and business needs. Clients get a business credit card, automated expense management, multi-currency accounts, and flexible global bill pay - all designed to eliminate the fragmented, fee-heavy options that burden business owners today. Despite only now emerging from stealth, the startup hit C$20 million in annualised revenue last year, onboarding over 3,000 SMBs across a diverse mix of industries. "Traditional banks have failed Canadian entrepreneurs for too long," says Oliver Takach, CEO, Keep. "We're building the financial operating system that Canada's small businesses actually need - one that provides the technology, tools, and services to help them thrive."
Cision Canada
20-05-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
Keep Raises C$108M to Transform Small Business Banking in Canada
TORONTO, May 20, 2025 /CNW/ - Keep, Canada's first all-in-one financial platform built exclusively for small businesses, today announced a C$108 million in new funding as it emerges from stealth mode. The funding includes C$33 million in equity financing led by Tribe Capital, a C$71 million credit facility from Coventure (Treville), and a C$4 million venture debt line from Silicon Valley Bank. This investment will accelerate Keep's mission to solve critical cash flow and operational challenges faced by Canada's 3 million small businesses. Canada's $500B+ small business banking market remains dominated by legacy banks offering outdated software, subpar customer service, and rigid underwriting processes that cripple small businesses' ability to flourish. Keep addresses this gap by serving both established businesses seeking a better experience and entrepreneurs traditionally overlooked by conventional banks. While fintech innovators like Brex, Mercury, and Ramp have transformed small business banking in the US market, Canadian entrepreneurs have lacked similar options. Keep is bringing this financial revolution north of the border with solutions specifically designed for Canadian tax systems, banking regulations, and business needs. "Traditional banks have failed Canadian entrepreneurs for too long," said Oliver Takach, Keep's Co-founder and CEO. "We're building the financial operating system that Canada's small businesses actually need - one that provides the technology, tools, and services to help them thrive." Takach speaks from experience. As a two-time Y Combinator founder who bootstrapped a business to C$2M revenue in 2019, he faced the same financial hurdles that plague Canadian entrepreneurs. "Keep was born from my own frustration with fragmented systems and banking inefficiencies," Takach explained. "We're building what I desperately needed back then."Keep's integrated platform includes Canada's first fintech business credit card, automated expense management, multi-currency accounts, and flexible global bill pay - all designed to eliminate the fragmented, fee-heavy solutions that burden business owners today. "With Keep, we've cut our financial admin time by 80%," said Glen Napier, CEO of James G Armour & Co. "The integration of their products was seamless and helped us double our revenue in just six months. What used to take weeks with traditional banks now happens instantly." In 2024 alone, Keep experienced substantial growth crossing C $20 million in annualized revenue, less than 2 years after going live. Keep also achieved over 300% net dollar retention, reflecting exceptional customer satisfaction and has onboarded over 3,000 SMBs across a diverse mix of industries. "Keep's incredible growth and product adoption is far beyond what we see in high growth companies at their stage today," said Arjun Sethi, Co-Founder and Partner at Tribe Capital. "We're excited to support Keep as it redefines how businesses manage operations and cash flow, empowering them with smarter, more flexible financial solutions." Looking ahead, Keep is well positioned to become the financial backbone for Canadian entrepreneurs. "By 2027, we aim to serve 100,000 small businesses across Canada, helping them save over quarter billion dollars in fees annually," said Takach. "This funding brings us one step closer to our ultimate goal: ensuring that no Canadian entrepreneur's vision is constrained by access to fair, flexible financial services." The funding round attracted strong participation from both existing and new investors, including Rebel Fund, Liquid2 Ventures, Cambrian, and Assurant Ventures. Notable individual investors include founders and executives from fintech leaders such as Robinhood, Venmo, Stripe, Plaid, Chime, Coinbase, Ramp, and Alloy. To get in touch with the Keep team, reach out at [email protected] About Keep Keep is Canada's first all-in-one financial platform built exclusively for small businesses. Keep allows SMBs to control spend, automate bookkeeping, and send, receive, and store funds - all in one powerful, integrated platform, Keep eliminates the fragmented, fee-heavy solutions that burden business owners today. Founded in 2022, Keep is headquartered in Toronto and backed by leading global investors. Learn more at About Tribe Capital Tribe Capital is a venture capital firm focused on capturing a perpetual edge in venture and crypto using data science. The team is made up of investors, engineers and scientists who use artificial intelligence and data science to model venture-backed private companies. The San Francisco-based firm has approximately $1.8 billion in assets under management and has made notable investments in Carta, Docker, Kraken, Instabase, and Shiprocket. To learn more, visit
TechCrunch
20-05-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Keep raises $12M in increasingly competitive Canadian corporate spend market
In the U.S., a number of startups aim to be the corporate spend manager of choice for small and large businesses. Brex, Ramp, and Mercury are among those companies, just to name a few. Moving north of the border to Canada, the options are fewer, but growing. Keep is a startup that has built a financial platform specifically designed for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). On Tuesday, it announced a total of $23 million in equity funding, a $50 million credit facility, and a $3 million venture debt line, it shared with TechCrunch exclusively. This year, Keep raised $12 million in what it describes as a Series A1 round that was led by Tribe Capital. It previously raised $8 million in a Series A led by Tribe Capital in May of 2023, and $8 million in a seed round in November of 2021. Treville Capital Group provided the credit line, and Silicon Valley Bank the venture debt. Keep co-founder and CEO Oliver Takach declined to reveal the startup's valuation, saying only that Keep 'had a 5x step up in valuation from the Series A and 20x increase in revenue.' Takach is no stranger to startups. Prior to co-founding Toronto-based Keep with Helson Taveras in 2021, he was a two-time Y Combinator founder (CareLedger, YCS15, and Origin, YCW17; both startups are now inactive). He also helped found another startup called Retriever that was sold to a marketing company. Over the years, Takach and Taveras struggled with available financial tools, especially those provided by traditional banks, so they decided to build an offering of their own. In 2023, Keep launched its corporate credit card as part of its quest to serve as 'the mission control center for a company's finances.' Besides the corporate card, Keep offers businesses multi-currency accounts, automated expense management, and integrations with accounting software. Techcrunch event Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot for our leading AI industry event with speakers from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Cohere. For a limited time, tickets are just $292 for an entire day of expert talks, workshops, and potent networking. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you've built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | REGISTER NOW In 2024, Keep crossed $14 million in annualized revenue and onboarded over 3,000 SMB customers that operate across a mix of industries, many of which do business internationally. The company makes money in part by earning interchange revenue when businesses use its corporate cards. It also charges fees for capital advances and short-duration installment loans, and earns revenue from premium payment options when customers send funds instantly or exchange currencies. Toronto-based Float Financial also aims to serve SMBs in Canada and is Keep's closest competitor, according to Takach. In his view, one of Keep's differentiators is its multi-currency capabilities, which help its customers 'bank like a local' and allow cross-border operations. Tribe Capital led Keep's latest equity raise, which included participation from existing and new backers Rebel Fund, Liquid 2 Ventures, Cambrian, and Assurant Ventures. Several angel investors, including Dropbox co-founder Arash Ferdowsi, Webflow co-founder and CEO Vlad Magdalin, Alloy co-founders Tommy Nicholas and Laura Spiekerman, and Marc Bhargava, a managing director at General Catalyst, also participated in the financing. 'Managing expenses, sending and receiving money, handling currency exchanges seamlessly, and giving employees controlled access to funds are now table stakes,' Arjun Sethi, co-founder of Tribe Capital, told TechCrunch. 'Vertically integrating these services isn't a luxury anymore — it's the new standard.' Looking ahead, Keep aims to launch a banking product and add more features, such as embedded credit options and bill pay.
