FinTech startup RiseUp announced today (Tuesday) that it has closed $30 million in a Series B funding round. The financing round was led by Corner Ventures, one of the leading venture capital firms in the world with a portfolio that includes tech giants Melio, Yelp, and Wix. The round also included participation from Aleph Ventures, Latitude Ventures, Sir Ronald Cohen, and Jeff Schwartz.
Enabling life-changing financial impact
Finance is a world that many people know nothing about. If you don't have a formal education in it, understanding the financial systems we’re a part of seems like an impossible feat, as the systems are beyond complex. That leaves people vulnerable to the part of their lives that arguably plays the biggest role: their finances. The Israeli startup RiseUp is trying to change that.
RiseUp provides people the opportunity to change their relationship with money. The company has developed a unique digital platform that enables customers to take control of their expenses and save money by fusing together human expertise with machine capability. They connect their smart technological tool, a team of financial experts and consultants, and a strong community of over 18,000 members to get the best outcomes. The platform collects and analyzes data, automatically predicts future transactions, and provides customers with a simple snapshot of their financial situation, which they receive via WhatsApp. Moreover, instead of selling consumers more debt options that they cannot afford, RiseUp helps consumers improve their cash flow, get control of their liabilities, and build their balance sheets. So, the platform is helping those who are underserved, with little to no financial background and knowledge be able to improve their financial standing and resilience, and better their lives.
Recently, the company launched a long-term savings product in partnership with investment house Meitav Dash. Since launching the product, the company has helped customers save more than 4 million ILS ($1.24 million), with an average monthly saving of 438 ILS ($136) per customer. According to a study conducted by the ERI institute, RiseUp customers improve their monthly cash flow by more than 1,100 ILS ($341) within three months of using the service. Furthermore, 25% of the families who had negative cash flow when they joined, turned it positive within three months. RiseUp charges a monthly subscription fee of 45 ILS ($13).
Customers of RiseUp shared their experience with Geektime: Sylvie and Yitzhak Tsikorel said that "We have always been in debt, but since we started using RiseUp, it has disappeared. Our financial outlook has totally changed thanks to the service. We can’t imagine how we would survive without it." Michal Mashraki, from Rosh HaAyin, continued, saying: "It is the best financial decision I ever made for me, my family, and our financial future. I have been a satisfied customer for over a year, and it really offers the best solution.”
With the capital raised, RiseUp plans to expand globally. Currently, they are only active in Israel; In a conversation with Geektime, RiseUp's , co-founder and CGO, Tamara Harel-Cohen, told us that "We chose to focus on the Israeli market for a few reasons: firstly, on a personal level, it was important to us to have a positive impact on the lives of Israelis. Secondly, we understood that since there is a big market opportunity here, it is possible to build a very significant company in Israel. Israel was never a pilot or a beta site for us, it is our home market. But now that we have reached significant traction and are growing rapidly in Israel, we are starting to look at expanding into other markets." With this expansion, more and more people around the world will be able to take control of their finances, save money and build assets. RiseUp is also planning on growing their team.
RiseUp was founded in 2017 by Yuval Samet (CEO), Iftach Bar (CTO), Tamara Harel-Cohen (CGO) and Hanan Rubin. The company has more than 60 employees in Tel Aviv and has raised over $50 million to date.
