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Plaid Raises $575 Million Amid Valuation Cut to $6.1 Billion
Plaid, the fintech infrastructure company connecting consumer bank accounts to apps and digital services, has completed a $575 million secondary share sale. The round, backed by Ribbit Capital, NEA, Fidelity, BlackRock, and Franklin Templeton, allows employees to liquidate expiring equity while resetting the company’s valuation from $13.4 billion to $6.1 billion.
The deal, which gives liquidity to long-standing employees, also reflects current private market conditions, where even revenue-positive companies face adjusted investor expectations.
Plaid CEO Zach Perret told CNBC the company has seen significant growth in both revenue and profitability.
While an IPO remains in sight, Perret cited internal milestones the company still needs to achieve before considering a public debut.
A Pivotal Moment in Plaid’s History: The Abandoned Visa Acquisition
Plaid’s earlier valuation high point came just after a proposed $5.3 billion acquisition by Visa, announced in 2020. However, the U.S. Department of Justice sued to block the deal, arguing that Visa—then the dominant force in online debit payments—was attempting to neutralize a potential rival before it could grow further.
In a statement from January 2021, DOJ officials described Plaid as a “nascent competitive threat” that could challenge Visa’s control over online debit transactions by offering developers and fintechs alternative payment rails. The agency claimed the merger would “extinguish a nascent competitor” and “harm consumers.”
Rather than face trial, Visa and Plaid mutually agreed to abandon the merger. The result preserved Plaid’s independence, enabling the company to continue building open banking infrastructure used by thousands of developers and platforms.
The failed acquisition became a defining moment for fintech regulation and was widely interpreted as a victory for market competition.
Connecting the Infrastructure of Digital Finance
Since its founding in 2012, Plaid has become one of the key players in fintech infrastructure. Its API platform links over 12,000 financial institutions to more than 8,000 apps and financial service providers, powering use cases across budgeting, lending, investing, personal finance, and more.
Plaid’s success lies in its ability to serve as the connective tissue between consumers’ financial accounts and the apps they use daily. Its technology underpins a vast number of modern fintech experiences, making it one of the most relied-upon platforms in open banking.
A Secondary Sale to Reward Tenure
The $575 million transaction is a secondary sale, meaning the funds go to existing shareholders—primarily Plaid employees with restricted stock expiring in 2025—rather than the company itself.
This structure is increasingly common among late-stage private companies that are not yet ready to go public but want to offer liquidity. It also signals that Plaid has sufficient operational capital and does not require fresh primary funding to meet its growth targets.
Plaid’s decision to proceed with a secondary round, rather than a traditional raise, allows it to control dilution while retaining investor alignment.
Staying the Course Toward IPO
Perret emphasized that while going public is still in the company’s future plans, it remains a long-term goal rather than an immediate one. The company continues to invest in infrastructure expansion, with new services in identity verification, income and employment data, and payment initiation.
These additions are designed to position Plaid not only as a data aggregator, but as a full-stack infrastructure provider that supports broader financial access.
Conclusion: A Stronger Business in a Tighter Market
Plaid’s latest share sale and valuation adjustment mark a new phase in its journey.
Backed by major institutional investors and still operating independently after the collapse of the Visa deal, Plaid has proven its ability to adapt and scale. The path to IPO is still ahead—but the fundamentals remain strong, and the mission clear: powering the next generation of financial applications with secure, flexible connectivity.
