Ramp Funding: Corporate Spend Market Fuels Growth

Corporate Spend Management Sees Continued Investment

Divvy, a Utah-based provider of corporate spend management software, secured $165 million in funding earlier in the year, achieving a $1.6 billion valuation. This followed a similar milestone for its competitor, Brex, as the demand for financial services software and corporate payment solutions remained exceptionally strong throughout 2021, building on the momentum of 2020.

Ramp Pursues New Funding

Currently, Ramp, a direct competitor to both Divvy and Brex, is in discussions to secure a new round of investment led by Stripe and D1 Capital Partners. Valuation estimates suggest this round could exceed $1 billion. This information was initially reported by The Information and subsequently verified by TechCrunch through a knowledgeable source.

A Competitive Landscape

The corporate spend management sector is increasingly crowded. Ramp also faces competition from companies such as Airbase and Teampay. Each of these businesses offers software solutions designed to facilitate the authorization, management, and tracking of company expenditures.

Initially, this category of startup gained recognition for offering company cards specifically to startups and small-to-medium sized businesses (SMBs). However, the market has evolved to encompass more comprehensive financial software, functioning as a central hub for internal expense oversight.

Aggressive Investment Trends

Investment activity within this startup segment has been notably rapid. Following the onset of the pandemic, Brex successfully raised $150 million. Ramp itself secured multiple funding rounds last year, and further bolstered its financial position with a debt facility earlier in 2021.

Airbase also completed a funding round last year, sharing its growth statistics as 2020 concluded. Similarly, Teampay added $5 million to its Series A funding from 2019 during the past year.

International Expansion

The viability of the fintech startup model focused on corporate spend software is also being demonstrated internationally. Clara, a Latin American startup operating in this space, recently raised $3.5 million earlier this month, indicating potential for broader market adoption.

Here's a summary of the key players: