Upward raises $8m Seed+ to expand fintech infrastructure

November 10, 2025

Upward, a FinTech infrastructure platform provider empowering companies to launch and scale digital financial products with speed and simplicity, has raised $8m in a Series Seed+ round.

The investment was co-led by Dundee Venture Capital and Breakwater Ventures Fund, with participation from Techstars, Altari Ventures, Cascade Seed Fund, and Outside Ventures.

The funding will fuel Upward’s mission to make it radically faster and easier for businesses to launch and operate financial products — tackling the cost and complexity that have historically slowed innovation in financial services.

Founded to modernise how financial products are built and delivered, Upward provides an all-in-one FinTech infrastructure platform that simplifies the creation of digital banking, card, and payment solutions. The company enables businesses to roll out branded financial products without the need for multiple vendor integrations or complex regulatory frameworks.

Upward’s infrastructure brings together banking, payments, cards, and compliance capabilities into a single developer-friendly system. The platform primarily serves gig economy and creator platforms, giving them the tools to offer tailored financial products designed around their users’ needs.

The $8m Seed+ round, comprising new capital and the conversion of convertible equity, will support the expansion of Upward’s infrastructure, enhance its engineering and partnership functions, and broaden access to its turnkey platform across FinTech, creator, and gig workforce sectors.

A major part of the announcement is Upward’s strategic partnership with Mastercard, designed to strengthen its ability to deliver innovative embedded financial experiences. The collaboration integrates Mastercard’s global network and program benefits — including the Easy Savings® and Business Builder Program — allowing customers to launch Mastercard-branded card programmes within weeks.

Upward co-founder and CEO Aaron Gregory said, “At Upward, we’re transforming the way financial products are built. For too long, businesses that wanted to offer a financial product have had to choose between innovation, flexibility, and speed.

“This investment and our Mastercard partnership will help to tear down those barriers — empowering our customers to launch and operate smarter, customer-centric financial products faster than ever.”

Upward co-founder and COO Danielle Hill said. “Speed and compliance don’t have to be at odds. We’ve built the infrastructure to make financial innovation not only faster but also more flexible for our customers. This next phase is about execution – helping customers transform their innovative visions into revenue-generating products in record time.”