SVB Partner Rippling raises $500m

Fintech Rippling has raised $500m in a Series E funding round following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), its primary banking partner. After FDIC took over SVB, the company extended $130m of its own capital to fund customer payments to their employees. Although Rippling leveraged its backup payments infrastructure with JP Morgan Chase, CEO Parker Conrad says “$545m of our customers’ money was still locked up at SVB”. To address the issue, the company turned to long-time investor Greenoaks, raising $500m by Monday morning. The Series E values the firm at $11.25bn, the same as the company’s Series D in May 2021.

Rippling’s platform allows companies to manage their employees’ payroll, benefits, and expenses in one place. The company has said it will use the funds to continue to develop its platform and provide additional features, such as a new suite of employee benefits. Following the fundraising round, Conrad stated, “Now, we’ve recovered all funds from SVB and our balance sheet holds just shy of $1bn in cash”. He added that the funding round was the best option for the company after a number of sources of capital were considered.

Rippling’s CEO also revealed that the company had been discussing the funding round for months and that it was oversubscribed. He thanked his team, customers, and investors for their support and said the round would allow the firm to invest in new products and features. “We’re still a small company relative to our ambitions, and we have a lot of work ahead of us,” Conrad said. “But I’m more excited than ever about the opportunity to create something extraordinary and to help our customers run their businesses more effectively.”

Founded in 2016, Rippling’s customer base has grown considerably during the pandemic. The company has added several new features to its platform over the past year.