Jeeves Raises $57M, Rapid Growth to $500M Valuation

Jeeves Secures $57 Million Series B Funding, Achieving a $500 Million Valuation

Last summer, Jeeves began its journey as a developing fintech company within Y Combinator’s summer program.

This past June, the company officially launched, having secured $31 million in equity alongside $100 million in debt financing.

Today, Jeeves, the creator of an “all-in-one expense management platform” designed for global startups, has announced a $57 million Series B funding round, resulting in a company valuation of $500 million.

Rapid Growth and Funding Timeline

This valuation represents a significant increase from just over $100 million, which was the valuation at the time of Jeeves’ Series A closing in May and subsequent announcement in early June.

The speed of this funding is particularly noteworthy, as Jeeves finalized the terms of its Series B only two months after completing its Series A round.

It is also remarkable considering the company had just finished a YC cohort a year prior.

While not actively seeking funding so soon, Jeeves’ substantial revenue and spend growth following its Series A, which was spearheaded by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), attracted numerous investor inquiries and multiple term sheet offers, according to CEO and co-founder Dileep Thazhmon.

The company ultimately chose to proceed with CRV, who had expressed interest since the Series A and had established a strong relationship with Thazhmon, to accelerate growth and expand into new markets.

Investor Participation

CRV led the Series B round, with additional participation from Tencent, SVB Capital, Alkeon Capital Management, Soros Fund Management, and a distinguished group of angel investors.

This group of angel investors included NBA stars Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala, Odell Beckham Jr., and Mantis Venture Capital, representing The Chainsmokers.

Furthermore, founders from a dozen unicorn companies also invested in the Series B, including Clip CEO Adolfo Babatz, QuintoAndar CEO Gabriel Braga, Uala CEO Pierpaolo Barbieri, BlockFi CEO Zac Prince, Mercury CEO Immad Akhund, Bitso founder Pablo Gonzalez, Monzo Bank’s Tom Blomfield, Intercom founder Des Traynor, Lithic CEO Bo Jiang, and founders from UiPath, Auth0, GoCardless, Nubank, Rappi, and Kavak.

Global Expansion and Platform Capabilities

Jeeves, described as a “fully remote” company, positions itself as the first “cross country, cross currency” expense management platform.

The startup’s services are currently available in Mexico and Canada, and have recently launched in Colombia, the United Kingdom, and throughout Europe.

Thazhmon and Sherwin Gandhi founded Jeeves last year with the understanding that startups often rely on localized and country-specific financial infrastructure.

For instance, a company with employees in both Mexico and Colombia would typically require separate vendors for corporate cards and cross-border payments in each country.

Jeeves asserts that its platform, leveraging proprietary Banking-as-a-Service infrastructure, enables companies to establish their finance functions “in minutes”.

This includes access to 30 days of credit on a corporate card (with 4% cash back), alternative payment methods, and cross-border payment solutions.

Customers can also settle payments in multiple currencies, minimizing FX (foreign transaction) fees.

A business operating in Barcelona, for example, can utilize a Jeeves card and pay in euros, while simultaneously using the same card in Mexico and settling in pesos, thereby avoiding FX fees and achieving instant spend reconciliation across currencies.

Building a Global BaaS Layer

Thazhmon emphasizes that the company’s primary focus is developing its own global BaaS layer.

This layer will connect with various banking entities in each country, allowing the Jeeves app to seamlessly integrate with the infrastructure.

In essence, he explains, “think of it as a BaaS platform, but with only one app — the Jeeves app — plugged into it.”

Impressive Growth Metrics

Since January, Jeeves has experienced a more than 5,000% increase in transaction volume (GTV).

Revenue and spend volume have also grown by over 1,100% (11x) since the Series A round earlier this year, according to Thazhmon.

Currently, Jeeves supports over 12 currencies and operates in 10 countries across three continents, with Mexico serving as its largest market.

The company is currently in beta testing in Brazil and Chile, and anticipates full operation in all of North America and Europe by the end of the year.

Looking ahead to next year, Jeeves plans to expand into the Asian market, with Tencent expected to provide strategic support.

A Model for Rapid Deployment

“We’re building an all-in-one expense management platform for startups in LatAm and global markets — cash, corporate cards, cross-border — all run on our own infrastructure,” Thazhmon stated to TechCrunch. “Our model is very similar to that of Uber’s launch model where we can launch very quickly because we don’t have to rebuild an entire infrastructure. When we launch in countries, we actually don’t have to rebuild a stack.”

Jeeves’ user base is doubling every 60 days, and currently serves over 1,000 companies across LatAm, Canada, and Europe, including Bitso, Kavak, RappiPay, Belvo, Runa, Moons, Convictional, Muncher, Juniper, Trienta, Platzi, Worky, and others.

The company reports a current waitlist exceeding 15,000.

Future Plans and Team Expansion

Jeeves intends to allocate its new capital towards launching in Colombia, the U.K., and Europe, as well as further expanding its team.

The company has already doubled its workforce to 55 employees over the past month.

Matt Hafemeister, formerly a partner at a16z, joined Jeeves in August as its head of growth, deeply impressed by the company’s progress.

Having worked with the founders as an investor, he concluded that they are “among the best founders in fintech” he has encountered.

Hafemeister’s decision to leave a16z was also influenced by Jeeves’ rapid growth trajectory, which had already surpassed year-end revenue goals by mid-year.

“It is evident Jeeves has found early product market fit and, given the speed of execution, I see Jeeves establishing itself as one of the most important fintech companies in the next few years,” Hafemeister told TechCrunch. “The company is transitioning from a seed company to a Series B company very quickly, and being able to help operationalize processes and play a role in their growth and maturity is an incredible opportunity for me.”

Investor Confidence

CRV General Partner Saar Gur (an early investor in DoorDash, Patreon and Mercury) expressed his astonishment at Jeeves’ growth and its consistent achievement of targets.

He also highlighted the overwhelmingly positive feedback received from early customers.

“Jeeves is building products and infrastructure that are very difficult to execute but by doing the ‘hard things’ they offer incredible value to their customers,” he told TechCrunch. “We haven’t seen anyone build from the ground up with global operations in mind on day one.”