“Can a vertically focused neobank for ecommerce brands become the AI-driven financial operating system that replaces fragmented banking, capital, and finance ops tools?”
Founded in 2020 as a domestic banking and cash flow platform specifically for US ecommerce brands, Highbeam initially used Unit as its BaaS backbone for domestic payments. As its clients' needs expanded internationally, Highbeam partnered with Currencycloud to add cross-border payment capability. By 2025, Highbeam had transitioned its payment infrastructure to Airwallex and raised a $30M Series A to reposition as an AI-powered financial operating system—'Highbeam Intelligence'—layering automation agents over banking, capital, cards, and bill pay for consumer brands.
Highbeam discloses Unit as its banking provider, with Thread Bank as its sponsor bank, according to the Embedded Finance Index 2026.
Highbeam does not disclose a bank charter of its own; its banking services are provided through Thread Bank.
Highbeam processes payments through Airwallex.
Highbeam's cards are issued through Thread Bank.
Highbeam uses Currencycloud and Airwallex for FX and cross-border payouts.
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 7 layers in Highbeam's stack: Payments / PSP (Airwallex); Banking / BaaS (Unit); Card issuing (Thread Bank); Lending (Revolving line of credit, Cash advance and Highbeam Capital); Unified APIs (Currencycloud); Sponsor bank (Thread Bank); FX & payouts (Currencycloud and Airwallex).
Highbeam was founded by Samir Shergill and Gautam Gupta and is founded in 2020, headquartered in New York, NY, USA.
Highbeam has raised $40M+ in total (latest round: Series A, 2025).
Get a read on where your own stack stands against Highbeam and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.