Promise / City of Baltimore · Apr 2026
Baltimore launched a property-tax payment-plan program powered by Promise.
Better payment systems for governments and the communities they serve.
Company research
Public company, workplace, funding, and market signals
Updated Aug 2, 2026
Overview
Promise Network Inc. (Promise/PromisePay) is a private govtech and financial-services software company founded in 2017. It partners with government agencies and utilities to modernize payment, debt-repayment, income-verification, benefits-distribution, and program-audit workflows. The company has evolved from its original bail-reform product into an AI-enabled public-sector platform.
Primary product
Promise’s primary product is a configurable, mobile-first government and utility payments platform. PromisePay provides interest-free payment plans, digital payment collection, automated outreach, reconciliation, and audit trails; adjacent products include PromiseBenefits, PromiseVerified, and PromiseAudit.
Founded
2017
Headquarters
Oakland, California, United States
Team size
Approximately 80–90 employees (public LinkedIn/company-profile estimate; not independently reported by the company)
Work style
Hybrid
Industry
Software development / financial technology
Sub-industry
Government technology (govtech), public-sector payments, utility billing, benefits administration, and AI-enabled program operations
Offices
Oakland, California, United States
Fairfield, California, United States
Washington, D.C., United States
Business model
B2G/B2B SaaS sold to government agencies and utilities
Subscription fees paid by government and utility customers
Government- or utility-paid transaction/payment-processing fees
Implementation and program-operations services
Consumers generally are not charged interest and are not the paying customer
Funding
Stage
Series B; privately held
Total raised
$51M
Latest round
Series B · Feb 2022
Latest amount
$25M
Feb 2022 · The General Partnership
Feb 2021 · Kapor Capital and XYZ
Mar 2018 · First Round Capital
Jan 2018
Pre-Seed / Accelerator participation (YC)
Y Combinator (accelerator)
People & investors
Leadership
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Co-Founder and Chief Legal Officer
Chief Technology Officer
Chief Financial Officer
Chief Operating Officer
Head of Utilities / Head of Public Sector
Chief of Staff / AI Product Lead
John Blessing
Chief Information Security Officer
Investors
8VC
Abad Capital
Alderbrook Companies
Angel investors (unspecified)
Backstage
Backstage Capital
Bronze
Bronze Investments
Bumble
Fifth Down Capital
First Round Capital
Gaingels
General Partnership
Howard Schultz
Kapor Capital
Quain Investments
Roc Nation
The General Partnership
Village
Village Global
XYZ Venture Capital
XYZ Ventures
Y Combinator
Work & culture
Promise describes its culture through “Outcomes above all else,” “Move fast, learn faster,” and “One team, one future.” It emphasizes mission-driven work, practical solutions, data-informed decisions, empathy, security, and improving public systems. Public hiring material describes a hybrid, fast-moving environment.
Work style
Hybrid
Compensation
Public hiring materials indicate stock options and benefits but do not provide a reliable company-wide salary band. Individual job listings should be checked for role-specific compensation; visa sponsorship was not publicly confirmed.
Benefits
100% employer coverage of medical, dental, and vision premiums for employees and dependents
Mental-health resources including Spring Health, Rula, and One Medical
Stock options
Flexible parental leave and family-supportive policies
Financial-planning tools through SoFi
Mortgage-rate discounts through Multiply Mortgage
Office community activities including happy hours, game nights, and clubs
Product & market
Pricing
Enterprise pricing paid by government agencies and utilities, typically through subscription and/or transaction fees; public consumer-facing Promise plans are generally interest-free. No public standard price card was found.
Differentiators
- —Purpose-built for government agencies and utilities rather than general consumer payments
- —Interest-free, flexible installment plans designed to reduce shutoffs, penalties, and missed payments
- —Mobile-first, multilingual, self-service resident experience
- —AI-assisted eligibility, income verification, outreach, auditing, and fraud/risk detection
- —Configurable integrations with government and utility customer-information systems
- —Audit-ready records, automated reconciliation, and security/compliance controls
- —Combines revenue recovery with benefits and relief distribution
Technology
Artificial intelligence and machine learning
Hybrid LLM and deterministic-logic workflows
Python
Node.js
TypeScript
React
GraphQL
REST APIs
SQL databases
Serverless infrastructure
Kubernetes
Terraform
AWS/GCP-class cloud infrastructure
ETL and data pipelines
Snowflake/BigQuery/Redshift-class data warehousing
PCI-DSS and SOC 2 Type 2 controls
Customers
WSSC Water
Louisville Water
City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities
Washington State Department of Commerce
New Jersey Department of Health / Gateway Community Action Partnership
Mississippi Department of Human Services
Baltimore
Virginia LIHWAP program partners
Utilities participating in New York’s Enhanced Energy Affordability Program
Competitors
Paymentus
PayNearMe
InvoiceCloud
Doxo
Domuso
Citcon
Scale & contact
Estimated revenue
Approximately $20 million actual revenue in 2023; Forbes reported management projections of approximately $100 million for 2025. A defensible public-signal range is $20M–$100M annual revenue, with the upper end being a projection rather than audited results.
Latest news
Promise engineering blog · Apr 2026
Promise described a hybrid LLM and deterministic-logic agent that accelerated approvals for nearly 14,000 applicants and represented about $3.3 million in benefits during its first month.
New Jersey Department of Health / Promise · Feb 2026
A pilot administered by Promise was launched for 1,250 New Jersey WIC families, providing one-time utility grants funded by the American Water Charitable Foundation.
Promise · Feb 2026
Promise highlighted Washington and Mississippi public-sector programs recognized in the 50 States, 50 Breakthroughs showcase and reported reaching more than 5 million households across 20-plus states.
Forbes · Aug 2024
Forbes profiled Promise’s growth, reported a $520 million valuation, approximately $51 million in equity funding, $20 million in 2023 revenue, and projected revenue of $100 million in 2025.
Jobs and careers at Promise
10 jobs at Promise
Account Executive - Public Sector
Remote
Sales
San Francisco; San Francisco, California , United States
1w ago
Remote
Full-time
Counsel, Government Contracts & Compliance
Remote
Legal
San Francisco; San Francisco, California , United States
4w ago
Remote
Full-time
Counsel, Government Contracts & Compliance
On-site
Legal
Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C., United States
4w ago
On-site
Full-time
IT Specialist
Remote
IT/Sec
San Francisco; San Francisco, California , United States
1mo ago
Remote
Full-time
Account Executive - Public Sector
On-site
Sales
Washington, D.C.
2mo ago
On-site
Full-time
Software Engineer - Platform & Infrastructure
Remote
Engineering
Washington, D.C.
4mo ago
Remote
Full-time
Software Engineering Lead
Remote
Engineering
San Francisco
6mo ago
Remote
Full-time
Software Engineer - AI
Remote
Engineering
San Francisco
6mo ago
Remote
Full-time
Bilingual Call Center Associate
On-site
Client Success (Call Center)
Fairfield
7mo ago
On-site
Full-time
Software Engineering Lead
On-site
Engineering
Washington, D.C.
7mo ago
On-site
Full-time