Upgrade

Upgrade, Inc. is a San Francisco-based fintech company founded in 2016 by Renaud Laplanche, the former founder and CEO of LendingClub, alongside several former LendingClub colleagues. Upgrade operates as a digital-first neobank with no physical branch locations, offering mobile banking, credit cards, personal loans, home improvement financing, auto financing, high-yield savings accounts, and buy-now-pay-later products delivered through partner financial institutions. The company began originating loans in April 2017 following a $60 million Series A round, reached unicorn status in June 2020 with a valuation over $1 billion, and has continued raising capital through a series of preferred equity rounds, most recently a $165 million Series G Preferred round in October 2025 at a $7.3 billion pre-money valuation. In July 2023, Upgrade made its first acquisition, buying travel-focused buy-now-pay-later provider Uplift for $100 million in cash and stock, more than doubling its customer base. As of its October 2025 funding announcement, Upgrade said it had delivered more than $42 billion in credit to over 7.5 million customers since inception, and CEO Renaud Laplanche has said the company expects to pursue an IPO within roughly 12 to 18 months of that raise.