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- Promise
Promise Revenue, Valuation, Funding & Investors
Promise is valued at $520M as of February 2022.
Last Promise valuation
$520M
Series B · Feb 2022
Last Promise funding round
$25M
Series B · Feb 2022
Promise revenue
$5M
Series B · Feb 2022
Key investors in Promise
Y Combinator
First Round Capital
Kapor Capital
XYZ Venture Capital
Flucas Ventures
Bronze Investments
About Promise
Promise is a fintech company, founded in 2017 and headquartered in Oakland, California, that provides flexible payment platforms for government debts, utilities, and municipal agencies. Its software lets residents set up installment plans and non-traditional payment options such as adjustable due dates and custom reminders to pay off obligations like parking tickets, utility bills, and child support, while helping government agencies increase collections. Promise operates on a subscription model in which government clients pay platform fees rather than the residents using it, and has worked with agencies including the Louisville Water Company and the City of Jackson, Missouri.
Founded
2017
HQ
Website
Status
Privately held
Customer focus
B2G
Revenue model
Subscription
Revenue
$5M (Feb 2022)
Valuation
$520M (Feb 2022)
Promise Valuation
Promise is currently valued at $520M, based on its Series B in February 2022.
The $25M round was led by The General Partnership, with participation from XYZ Venture Capital, First Round Capital, Y Combinator, Howard Schultz, Kapor Capital and 3 other investors.
Promise valuation by funding round
| Date | Stage | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2022 | Series B | $520M | 104.0x |
Promise Revenue
Promise's latest recorded revenue is $5M, as of its Series B in February 2022.
Promise revenue by funding round
| Date | Revenue * | Valuation | Revenue Multiple | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2022 | $5M | $520M | 104.0x | Series B |
* Revenue (or ARR) figures are the values recorded alongside each funding round. Typically run-rate revenue at the time of the deal, or a reported LTM (last 12 months) revenue.
Promise Funding History
Promise has raised a total of $48M across 4 funding rounds.
Promise's first fundraising round was a $100K pre-seed round in January 2018. The most recent completed round was a $25M Series B in February 2022.
Promise funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2022 | Series B | The General Partnership (lead); XYZ Venture Capital; First Round Capital; Y Combinator; Howard Schultz; Kapor Capital; Flucas Ventures; Bronze Investments; Nick Caldwell | $25M | $520M | Promise is a fintech company founded in 2017, headquartered in Oakland, California, that provides flexible payment platforms for government debts, utilities, and agencies, enabling installment plans to help residents pay off obligations faster while increasing government collections. The company pivoted from bail reform to broader government payment processing, serving clients like Louisville Water Company, City of Jackson, Missouri, and Chesterfield County. Promise's team includes experts from Palantir, Stripe, and Google, and it operates on a subscription model where governments pay fees, not users. On February 24, 2022, Promise raised a $25 million Series B round led by The General Partnership, with participation from Bronze Investments, First Round Capital, Kapor Capital, XYZ Venture Capital, Y Combinator, Howard Schultz, and others. The round aimed to support hiring, handle new customers, and expand into federal payments. Total funding across rounds reached approximately $48 million, including a prior $20 million Series A in 2021 and $3 million seed in 2018. Around the round, Promise reported massive traction: 32x revenue growth and 45x customer base growth from February 2021 to February 2022, with further multiples in early 2022, per TechCrunch. The company was named one of Y Combinator's Top Companies for 2022 and featured in Fast Company's most innovative personal finance companies list. Promise continued growth, appearing on Forbes' 2024 Next Billion-Dollar Startups list. |
| Feb 2021 | Series A | Kapor Capital (lead); XYZ Venture Capital (lead); Springbank Collective; First Round Capital; Y Combinator; Flucas Ventures; Bronze Investments; Bossa Invest | $20M | - | Promise is a fintech payment technology platform founded in 2017 that modernizes government payment systems by helping residents navigate government payments including utilities, child support, parking tickets, and other municipal bills. The platform offers flexible payment solutions including adjustable payment dates, interest-free payment plans, custom reminders, and multiple payment options to increase payment velocity and improve customer outcomes. In February 2021, Promise announced its Series A funding round of over $20 million, led by Kapor Capital and XYZ Venture Capital, with additional participation from Bronze Investments, First Round Capital, Y Combinator, and others. The post-money valuation for this Series A round was not publicly disclosed. Promise demonstrated strong early traction through partnerships like the Louisville Water Company, where it helped create solutions for over 5,000 past due accounts and distributed over $4 million in COVID-related assistance during the pandemic. By February 2022, one year after the Series A, Promise reported a 32x increase in revenue and a 45x increase in its customer base, indicating rapid scaling and market adoption of its government payment modernization platform. |
| Mar 2018 | Seed | First Round Capital (lead); Village Global; 8VC; Kapor Capital; Roc Nation | $3M | - | Promise is a payment technology platform that modernizes government payment systems, offering flexible options like adjustable payment dates, interest-free plans, custom reminders, and non-traditional payment methods to help agencies recover more revenue while providing humane solutions for residents. Founded in 2017 by Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins and Diana Frappier, the company participated in Y Combinator's spring 2018 class. In March 2018, Promise raised a $3 million seed round led by First Round Capital, with participation from 8VC, Kapor Capital, Roc Nation, Y Combinator, and others. This followed a $120,000 pre-seed from Y Combinator in January 2018. The seed funding supported developing the initial platform version and securing early partnerships. |
| Jan 2018 | Pre-seed | Y Combinator (lead) | $100K | - | - |
Who has invested in Promise?
14 investors have backed Promise across its funding rounds, including Y Combinator, First Round Capital, Kapor Capital, XYZ Venture Capital, Flucas Ventures and Bronze Investments.
Lead investors include The General Partnership, Kapor Capital, XYZ Venture Capital, First Round Capital and Y Combinator.
Promise Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Lead | Mar 2018 | ||
| 3 | Lead | Jan 2018 | ||
| 3 | Lead | Mar 2018 | ||
| 2 | Lead | Feb 2021 | ||
| 2 | Participant | Feb 2021 | ||
| 2 | Participant | Feb 2021 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Mar 2018 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Feb 2021 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Mar 2018 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Feb 2022 | ||
| 1 | Lead | Feb 2022 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Mar 2018 | ||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all 14 Promise investors. Start Free Trial | ||||
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Start Free TrialAcquisitions by Promise
Promise has acquired 1 company to date.
Last acquisition by Promise was on February 24th 2025. Promise acquired Curious Refuge for undisclosed valuation.
Latest Acquisitions by Promise
| Description | Curious Refuge is an online academy teaching AI tools for visual storytelling to digital artists and studios. Courses cover Midjourney and Stable Diffusion for concept art and animation workflows. Based in the United States, it hosts a community forum for creators working with brands like Adobe partners. |
| HQ Country | |
| HQ City | Los Angeles, CA |
| Deal Date | 24 Feb 2025 |
| Valuation | undisclosed |
| EV/Revenue | |
| EV/EBITDA | |
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Promise acquisitions and their M&A valuation multiples. Start Free Trial | |
Promise Competitors
Promise competitors include listed companies like XBP Europe, Brilliance Technology and Abaxx Technologies, and private ones like Anrok, Nelogica and Behavox.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publicly listed | $873M | ($53M) | $38M | 0.5x | ||
| Private | - | - | $525M | - | ||
| Private | - | - | $532M | - | ||
| Publicly listed | $160M | $2M | $536M | 2.5x | ||
| Publicly listed | $749K | ($28M) | $503M | 136.9x | ||
| Private | $26M | - | $500M | 19.2x |
Promise Public Comps
Promise is still privately-owned, but its public comps include JinXianDai Information, Linkage Software, Brilliance Technology, Abaxx Technologies, AMTD Digital, Hightech Payment Systems, Client Service International, FINEOS, Qualco Group and Leonteq.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $46M | ($10M) | 10.1x | - | (47.7x) | - | |||
| $157M | $24M | 2.7x | 4.2x | 17.7x | 14.2x | |||
| $160M | $2M | 3.5x | 2.5x | 364.9x | 61.5x | |||
| $749K | ($28M) | 600.9x | 136.9x | (16.1x) | (10.0x) | |||
| $59M | $18M | 19.5x | - | 62.9x | - | |||
| $156M | $29M | 3.3x | 3.2x | 17.6x | 18.1x | |||
| $88M | ($46M) | 7.5x | - | (14.3x) | - | |||
| $159M | $35M | 3.2x | 3.0x | 14.5x | 12.4x | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Promise competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about Promise
| When was Promise founded? | Promise was founded in 2017. |
| Where is Promise headquartered? | Promise is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, United States. |
| Is Promise publicly listed? | No, Promise is a private, VC-backed company. |
| What is Promise's valuation? | Promise was last valued at $520M in its Series B in February 2022. |
| How much funding has Promise raised? | Promise has raised $48M across 4 funding rounds. |
| What was Promise's last funding round? | Promise's last funding round was a $25M Series B in February 2022, led by The General Partnership. |
| Who are Promise's investors? | Promise's investors include First Round Capital, Y Combinator, Kapor Capital, XYZ Venture Capital, Flucas Ventures, Bronze Investments, Village Global, Springbank Collective, 8VC, Howard Schultz and 4 others. |
| What is Promise's revenue? | Promise's latest recorded revenue is $5M (February 2022). |
| Which companies are comparable to Promise? | Companies comparable to Promise include XBP Europe, Anrok, Nelogica, Brilliance Technology, Abaxx Technologies and Behavox. |
| How many companies has Promise acquired? | Promise has acquired 1 company, including Curious Refuge. |
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