Founded in 1928 and acquired by a group of fintech executives in 2022, Lead is an FDIC-insured bank that offers accounts, payments, card issuing and lending through a suite of APIs, allowing Fintechs to build financial products without holding a bank charter. In December, Lead acquired Loop, a payments processor that helps businesses and e-commerce platforms move money using stablecoin rails for faster settlement.
<p>Funding: $180 million from Ribbit, Coatue and Khosla Ventures, among others.
</p><p>Latest valuation: $1.47 billion.
</p><p>Date of last valuation: July 2025.
</p><p>Bona fides: In 2025, Lead’s net revenue rose to $108 million, up from $73 million in 2024. Adjusted earnings jumped from $22 million to $31 million.
</p><p>Cofounders: CEO Jacqueline Reses, 56; CTO Ronak Vyas, 55; chief product and data science officer Homam Maalouf, 42; and chief legal and risk officer Erica Khalili, 43—a team of execs who built a bank at fintech Block (formerly Square).</p>
HQ: Kansas City, Missouri, United States