Plaid Inc. is a financial technology company founded in 2013 by Zach Perret and William Hockey. Based in San Francisco, Plaid provides a data network that powers thousands of fintech applications, such as Venmo, SoFi, and Coinbase, by allowing them to connect easily to users' bank accounts. Through its platform, Plaid operates over 12,000 financial institutions across the US, Canada, UK, and Europe. As of 2021, the company was valued at $13.4 billion and had raised over $734.3 million in various funding rounds.
Attribute | Information |
---|---|
Founding Date | 2013 |
Headquarters | San Francisco, California, USA |
Founders | Zach Perret, William Hockey |
Revenue | $380 million (2024 target) |
Valuation | $13.4 billion (2021) |
Key Investors | Goldman Sachs, Andreessen Horowitz, Visa, Mastercard, JP Morgan Private Capital, AmEx Ventures |
Industry | Financial Technology |
Number of Employees | 1200+ |
Key Services | Financial data network, API for bank connectivity |
Plaid was established in 2013 in San Francisco by Zach Perret and William Hockey after initially setting out to create a personal finance application. Recognizing the difficulties in connecting to various financial institutions, they pivoted towards providing a middleware platform that facilitated connectivity between banks and fintech applications. With early clients like Venmo, Plaid quickly gained traction by enabling these popular services to access bank account information more seamlessly, which prompted a rapid expansion and significant fundraising success. By 2016, Plaid secured a substantial $44 million investment led by Goldman Sachs, reinforcing its market presence.
Plaid acts as a crucial intermediary allowing fintech applications to connect with users' bank accounts. Its APIs enable seamless financial data exchange, aiding in functionalities like peer-to-peer payments, investments, and personal finance management. Key milestones include:
Plaid is a leader in the fintech space, providing the infrastructure that allows digital services to link with financial accounts efficiently. It plays a pivotal role in the open banking ecosystem by enhancing the user experience, enabling quick authentication, and ensuring robust security measures. With a growing focus on enterprise clients, Plaid's recent product innovations provide more tailored services that cater to lenders and traditional financial institutions. It has positioned itself strategically to capitalize on the increase in digital financial transactions, and it continues to leverage partnerships to enhance its service offerings.
Plaid has emerged as a cornerstone in the financial technology industry, fostering a robust ecosystem where digital financial applications can thrive. Its innovation-driven approach supports a wide array of financial activities, impacting how consumers and businesses manage financial data. Looking forward, Plaid's ongoing expansion into enterprise solutions and investment in new technologies and partnerships are set to cement its role as a leading fintech provider, with potential growth driven by a push towards open finance models globally.