Upgrade Inc., a financial technology company, raised $165 million in a funding round that valued the company at over $7.3 billion, prior to a planned IPO in the coming year or two. 

Key Highlights

• Upgrade raises $165 million in Series G, valuing it at $7.3 billion, up ~21.7% from before.
• The round is backed by Neuberger’s NB Alternatives, with Peter Sterling joining Upgrade’s board.

The funding round was led by Neuberger, a group of funds under the management of NB Alternatives Advisers LLC, a statement said Thursday. Upgrade will welcome Neuberger's head of specialty finance, Peter Sterling, to its board of directors.

Upgrade, a San Francisco-based company, targets mainstream US consumers with credit rather than the younger or lower-income consumers that many other fintechs target. Since its launch in 2017, Upgrade, under the direction of Renaud Laplanche, a co-founder of LendingClub Corp., has provided more than 7.5 million customers with more than $42 billion in credit, the statement said.

Laplanche stated that the IPO is approximately 12 to 24 months away in a Bloomberg TV interview. He added that this was likely the company's final fundraising round prior to the IPO and that the funding round will provide the company with a cash infusion as well as some liquidity for its employees.

Upgrade has broadened its product line since its most recent funding round in November 2021, when the company was valued at $6 billion. In 2023, it plans to enter the auto loan market. In June, the company's total indirect auto-loan originations surpassed $1 billion.

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"In the fintech space, Upgrade offers an unparalleled opportunity," stated Sterling, a division of Neuberger. "We are thrilled to deepen our collaboration with Renaud and the Upgrade founding team, whom we have known for more than ten years."

Since its founding, Upgrade has raised $750 million in equity capital, including the most recent round.