Series Seed financing led by Kleiner Perkins underscores urgent need for novel approaches to mounting credit card debt crisis
NEW YORK, June 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Today, Fizz announced it has raised a $14.4 million Series Seed round to provide young generations with an easy-to-use debit card that helps avoid overspending. Fizz’s debit card uniquely aids young adults in establishing credit without the burden of interest or fees. The financing was led by Kleiner Perkins with participation from SV Angel, Y-Combinator, New Era Ventures, and the founders and operators behind ten unicorns, including Handshake, Postmates, and Public.com.
Fizz is the first credit-building debit card for students with an innovative, proactive AI budgeting solution at its core. Fizz also offers engaging, gamified financial literacy courses presented in a fun and interactive quiz format.
Fizz has already helped students build credit at every Ivy League school, and every top-25 US News & World Report school. The Fizz card requires no credit history, cosigner, or security deposit to get started, making it accessible to nearly all young adults, including internationals.
“The concept of credit can be so daunting and inaccessible for younger people that they delay building credit history until it’s too late,” said Carlo Köbe, Co-Founder and CEO at Fizz. “Traditional cards are hard to get approved for, and even if you do, high-interest debt can trap students for decades. After dropping out of Cornell and Harvard during COVID, we spent nearly two years working with regulators and banks to launch Fizz.
“Our card and app provide a clear path for younger generations to build credit early, so they’re not caught off guard when they need it most—for renting apartments, refinancing student loans, or passing background checks for their first real jobs,” said Scott Smith, President and Co-Founder
Fizz plans to use the capital to scale its team and build out additional product lines, as well as invest in marketing and sales to build awareness at more colleges and universities.
“Financial independence usually starts in college and getting it right is incredibly important, but most of the services have not changed in decades,” Ilya Fushman, Partner, Kleiner Perkins. “Fizz has built the technology and partnerships to offer a suite of modern products that make it easy for college students to get on the right path and build their financial future. The impact these products are having on the ground is terrific.”
The financing is the latest milestone in a record-breaking year for Fizz. In the last 12 months, Fizz grew from 0 to over 300 colleges and universities, and this year will cross 9 figures in annual card volume. Millions of students graduate with credit card debt—Fizz’s first order of business is creating a way out of that vicious cycle for young adults, and growing into a household name in the personal finance ecosystem.
About Fizz
Fizz’s team includes senior engineers and designers from Meta, Microsoft, and Amex. Fizz’s founders, Carlo Kobe and Scott Smith dropped out of Harvard and Cornell to build the company, at 19 and 21 respectively. Fizz partners directly with Lead Bank, the Kansas City bank acquired by billionaire former Block executive Jacqueline Reses in 2022. Fizz primarily competes with cards from big banks like Discover and Bank of America, and with companies like Rocket Money and Credit Karma on its budgeting and AI feature set. For more information, please visit https://joinfizz.com/
SOURCE Fizz