Fresh off last year's $100 million fundraise and $1 billion valuation, Chicago startup Amount has scooped up a fintech company that provides small-business lending tools to banks.
Amount said this week that it has acquired Linear Financial Technologies, a Reston, Virginia-based company that simplifies online borrowing for small businesses.
Amount is paying $175 million for Linear in a combination of cash and Amount stock, Amount CEO Adam Hughes said in an interview.
The deal gives Amount another set of offerings for banks, which rely on the Chicago startup for consumer lending and buy-now-pay-later tools, which have become increasingly popular with lenders and consumers.
Linear's platform offers small-business loans, lines of credit, small-business checking, credit cards, SBA loans and other tools. Its clients include Citizens Bank, PNC Bank, Fifth Third Bank and American Express.
"We can go to our banks and be that one-stop-shop for small businesses in addition to consumer and buy now, pay later (tools)," Hughes said.
Linear has around 200 employees, now giving Amount a headcount of roughly 600.
Founded in 2018 originally as the tech arm of online lending firm Avant, Amount has built tech-powered lending products for banks, including BBVA, HSBC and TD Bank. Amount officially spun off of Avant in 2020.
The Linear deal comes after a busy 2021 for Amount. In addition to the $100 million fundraise, Amount announced a partnership with Barclays to power its buy now, pay later offering, and it partnered with payment processor Marqeta to launch the first virtual card and loan origination partnership to help banks enter the buy now, pay later space.
Hughes said he expects Amount fo grow 100% year-over-year in 2022, and the company may pursue a IPO "once the market settles down," he said.
"An IPO could be available to us 24 months down the road," Hughes said.
Amount is among a group of fast-growing fintech firms in Chicago that have attracted $100 million or more in outside funding, including M1 Finance, Zero Hash and Halo Investing. Hughes said the city is "showing a lot of promise" when it comes to fintech talent.
"There's definitely a community here that's really supportive around innovation. I've been really impressed with the companies that have been coming out of Chicago," he said. "It's a great place to build a business."
