Fintech Startup Bolt Eyes Unicorn Status in New Funding Round

(Bloomberg) -- Bolt Financial Inc., a startup specializing in online checkout technology for retail brands, is seeking to raise at least $300 million in new funding, according to people familiar with the matter.

The company is eyeing a significantly higher valuation than the roughly $850 million it was valued at in a funding round last year, the people said, asking not be identified because the matter is private.

Bolt is seeking a valuation of $3 billion or more depending on investor demand, the people added. The company is working with a financial adviser to assist with discussions, some of the people added.

E-Commerce Boom

Bolt is looking to capitalize on a boom in e-commerce that accelerated during the pandemic, which drove shoppers online while many brick-and-mortar stores shuttered temporarily or even permanently.

The San Francisco-based company works with merchants, publishers and other e-commerce platforms to host its technology at the checkout process -- eliminating the need for the guest checkout option. Transactions that require one-click generally have higher conversion rates.

The company, founded by Ryan Breslow in 2014, competes in a space dominated by e-commerce giants such as Amazon.com Inc., a leader in speedy and efficient checkouts. Bolt has partnerships with Authentic Brands Group, which owns brands like Forever 21 and Brooks Brothers. It also works with Milk Makeup and designer brand Badgley Mischka and adds 300,000 new accounts each month, according to its website.

Any proceeds from the funding round will help Bolt sign new clients, improve its checkout technology and support expansion into Europe, the people added.

The company, which has raised $215 million to date, is backed by investors including General Atlantic, WestCap Group, Tribe Capital and Activant Capital Group, its website shows.

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