Online Banking Startup Dave To Go Public via SPAC at $4B Valuation

Francesca Billington

Francesca Billington is a freelance reporter. Prior to that, she was a general assignment reporter for dot.LA and has also reported for KCRW, the Santa Monica Daily Press and local publications in New Jersey. She graduated from Princeton in 2019 with a degree in anthropology.

Online Banking Startup Dave To Go Public via SPAC at $4B Valuation

Dave, the Los Angeles banking app that launched a debit card with no monthly fees, is going public through a so-called blank-check company, the startup announced Monday.


Dave is joining the SPAC boom, merging with Victory Park Capital, or VPC, a Chicago-headquartered investment firm. Tiger Global Management is leading a PIPE backed by investors who have committed $220 million.

The deal, expected to close by the fourth quarter of 2021, was approved by Dave's board of directors and VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings III, Inc, a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by VPC.

These so-called blank-check vehicles have become enormously popular with more SPACs completing IPOs last year alone than in the previous 10 years combined.

Regulators still must approve the deal along with the firm's stockholders. Once public, the company will trade under the ticker symbol DAVE.

The financial management platform was launched in 2017 with a suite of banking tools like overdraft protection and a gig-economy job board. It currently has 10 million users.

Dave Banking released its debit card with no monthly fees and online banking app last December. It's amassed about 1.3 million members, according to the company.

The fintech startup is also on a hiring kick. In January, a former Apple executive who designed the Apple Card became Dave's chief commercial officer. A new marketing officer, president of engineering and chief people officer were brought on last year.

"With its strong management team, differentiated product suite and immense brand affinity, we believe Dave is well-positioned to achieve future growth and continue to disrupt the legacy financial system," Brendan Carroll, co-CEO of VPCC and co-founder of VPC, said in a statement.

Mark Cuban Companies, Section 32, The Kraft Group, SV Angel, Capital one and Norwest are among Dave's investors.

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LA-Based Apex Is Tapping Into the Small Satellite Market by Making Buses for Spacecraft

Spencer Rascoff

Spencer Rascoff serves as executive chairman of dot.LA. He is an entrepreneur and company leader who co-founded Zillow, Hotwire, dot.LA, Pacaso and Supernova, and who served as Zillow's CEO for a decade. During Spencer's time as CEO, Zillow won dozens of "best places to work" awards as it grew to over 4,500 employees, $3 billion in revenue, and $10 billion in market capitalization. Prior to Zillow, Spencer co-founded and was VP Corporate Development of Hotwire, which was sold to Expedia for $685 million in 2003. Through his startup studio and venture capital firm, 75 & Sunny, Spencer is an active angel investor in over 100 companies and is incubating several more.

​Ian Cinnamon
Ian Cinnamon

On this episode of Office Hours, Apex founder and CEO Ian Cinnamon discusses the importance of investing in space exploration and shares his thoughts on the evolving space ecosystem in Los Angeles.


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This Week in ‘Raises’: Measurabl Snags $93M, Selva Ventures Grabs $34M

Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

Raises
Image by Joshua Letona

A local data management platform company lands fresh funding to help commercial real estate owners reduce carbon footprint, while one Los Angeles-based venture firm closes its second fund to accelerate the growth of emerging companies across health, wellness, beauty and personal care.

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Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

McKinsey & Company Launches InLA Accelerator To Help Underrepresented Founders Tackle Startup Challenges
InLA

In 2022, female founders saw a 28% decline in overall U.S. funding, while Black-led startups saw a 38% decline in total capital received. In an effort to increase funding for minority-led startups, global venture firm McKinsey & Company is launching InLA, an accelerator program for underrepresented founders.

“This effort is something that the firm has been really excited about for a long time,” Engagement Manager Elkhyn Rivas Rodriguez said. “There's obviously a meaningful and growing startup community out here and just from a diversity standpoint, LA is incredibly diverse and multi-ethnic and multicultural. So we think that there will be a really great pool of potential companies to partner with.”

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