Kabbage
Also a provider — view Kabbage’s profile →“Can real-time SMB data underwriting become the front door for American Express to move 'Beyond the Card' into embedded SMB banking?”
Founded2009
HQAtlanta, Georgia, United States
FoundersRob Frohwein, Kathryn Petralia, Marc Gorlin
Total raised$2.5B (equity + debt)
Latest roundAcquired by American Express (2020)
Valuation~$850M acquisition price (2020); prior $1.2B valuation (2017)
IndustryFintech / SMB banking
The story
Kabbage was founded in 2009 as one of the first fintech lenders to use real-time business data (bank accounts, QuickBooks, PayPal, Square, Amazon, eBay, Stripe) to underwrite SMB credit lines up to $250K, funding over $16B by 2020. In 2020, hit hard by COVID's impact on SMB lending, Kabbage was acquired by American Express for ~$850M — the pre-existing loan portfolio was spun off as KServicing while Amex took the team, tech, and product IP. The platform has since been folded into American Express Business Blueprint, offering checking, payments, cash flow analytics, and lines of credit to Amex's SMB base.
Last 12 months
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Product timeline
2009
Kabbage founded in Atlanta by Rob Frohwein, Kathryn Petralia, and Marc Gorlin.· pivot
2011
Launched automated small business lending platform.· lending
2013
Expanded internationally into the United Kingdom.· lending
2017
Raised $250M Series F led by SoftBank at $1.2B+ valuation.· pivot
2019
Launched Pay Later financing for Alibaba.com U.S. buyers (up to $150K).· lending
2020
Launched Kabbage Payments and Kabbage Checking (business bank account).· banking
2020
Acquired by American Express; pre-existing loan portfolio spun off as KServicing.· acquisition
2023
Rebranded as American Express Business Blueprint.· pivot
The stack
4 layers disclosed in Kabbage’s embedded-finance stack
Payments / PSP
Kabbage Payments (self-operated)
Lending
in the full report
Open banking
in the full report
Accounting
in the full report
Accounting gap: minor
7 more providers across 3 layers, with confidence-scored evidence and source URLs, are in the Embedded Finance Index report.