Mercury stands to benefit from the proliferation of AI-driven businesses, which is supporting its rising valuation.
The fintech company announced Wednesday that it has raised $200 million at a valuation of $5.2 billion in its latest funding round led by investment firm TCV. The company aims to attract AI-native founders and companies as banking customers.
Global venture funding has remained strong in recent quarters as investors look for solid exit opportunities, with a significant portion of it going to companies integrating AI into their operations.
Existing investors participated in Mercury’s latest round, including Andreessen Horowitz, Coatue, CRV, Sapphire Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Spark Capital.
Imad Akhund, the company’s co-founder and CEO, said AI helps companies close the gap between ideas and viable businesses, creating an opportunity for Mercury to compete in a market dominated by legacy banks.
Mercury operates through partner banks and does not have its own charter. The Charter will enable integration with Zelle, a digital payments network, allowing Mercury to offer comprehensive banking solutions to its core user base of founders and startups.
In April, the company received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to form Mercury Bank, a fully chartered national lender that can serve customers directly under full federal supervision.
Mercury, which was founded to serve technology startups, also said it achieved its fourth consecutive year of profitability on a GAAP net income and EBITDA basis. Annual revenue reached $650 million.
The company has more than 300,000 customers, including one in three U.S. startups, including backend-as-a-service provider Supabase, voice AI platform Eleven Labs, and coding platform Lovable.
“We believe the next generation of entrepreneurs will be AI-native and will need a banking partner to help them finance and build at the pace set by the AI itself,” said Neil Tranney, general partner at TCV. “We see Mercury as that partner.”
Valuation is what investors believe a company is worth. This means investors are collectively valuing Mercury based on its recent fundraising and market activity.
Additionally, the news also highlights Mercury’s strategic focus on serving artificial intelligence startups that are rapidly expanding and require modern banking and financial infrastructure. By targeting this fast-growing sector.
Mercury is a U.S.-based financial technology or fintech company that provides digital banking services primarily to startups and small businesses.
