Chime — Startup Profile
Fee-free mobile banking for everyday Americans
HQ: San Francisco, CA, United States | Founded: 2012 | Employees: 1,464 | Stage: Public (Nasdaq: CHYM) - IPO June 2025 | Website: https://www.chime.com
About
Chime Financial, Inc. is a San Francisco-based neobank founded in 2012 by Chris Britt (CEO) and Ryan King. Operating as a financial technology company rather than a chartered bank, Chime offers fee-free mobile banking through partner banks The Bancorp Bank, N.A. and Stride Bank, N.A., providing Spending and Savings accounts, Visa debit cards, and a suite of consumer financial tools. The company targets everyday Americans earning up to $100K annually, emphasizing no monthly fees, no minimum balances, and no overdraft fees, monetizing primarily through interchange fees on debit transactions (72% of revenue) supplemented by out-of-network ATM fees and optional premium features.
Chime serves 22 million funded accounts with 9.5 million monthly active members as of Q1 2025, generating $1.673B in FY2024 revenue and $518M in Q1 2025 (+32% YoY). Its product lineup includes Early Direct Deposit (up to 2 days early), SpotMe fee-free overdraft up to $200, Credit Builder secured card, MyPay on-demand wage access up to $500, Chime+ premium membership, and high-yield Savings (2-3.75% APY). Backed by Sequoia, DST Global, General Atlantic, Tiger Global, Dragoneer, Iconiq, SoftBank Vision Fund and others, Chime peaked at $25B valuation in August 2021 ($750M Series G) and completed its IPO on June 12, 2025 on Nasdaq under ticker CHYM, pricing at $27 and opening at $43 for an $18.4B fully-diluted valuation.
The Take
Chime is the leading US neobank with 22 million funded accounts and 9.5 million active members, having defined fee-free mobile banking for everyday Americans. After peaking at $25B in 2021, Chime completed a landmark fintech IPO on June 12, 2025 (Nasdaq: CHYM) at $27 per share (~$11.6B pricing, $18.4B fully-diluted debut), raising $864M. With $1.673B FY2024 revenue and $518M Q1 2025 (+32% YoY), its interchange-driven model (72% of revenue) and products like SpotMe, Credit Builder and MyPay position it as the scaled, profitable-era challenger to SoFi, Cash App and traditional banks.
Key Metrics
- IPO Pricing Valuation: $11.6B (FD $18.4B debut) - Nasdaq: CHYM
- Peak Valuation: $25B (Series G Aug 2021)
- Total Funding: $2.65B
- FY2024 Revenue: $1.673B
- Q1 2025 Revenue: $518M (+32% YoY)
- Funded Accounts: 22M (9.5M active)
- Employees: 1,464
- Founded: 2012
Funding Rounds
- Round: $0.5M (2012-10-01) — Angel Investors
- Round: $9.25M (2013-06-01) — Homebrew, Forerunner Ventures
- Round: $8M (2014-09-01) — Aspect Ventures
- Round: $2.8M (2015-05-01) — Crosslink Capital
- Round: $9M (2016-08-01) — Cathay Innovation
- Round: $70M (2018-03-15) — Menlo Ventures
- Round: $18M (2018-10-01) — DST Global
- Round: $200M (2019-03-01) — DST Global
- Round: $500M (2019-12-01) — DST Global, Coatue Management
- Round: $485M (2020-09-01) — General Atlantic, Tiger Global, Dragoneer
- Round: $750M (2021-08-16) — Sequoia Capital Global Equities, SoftBank Vision Fund 2
- Round: $864M (2025-06-12) — Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan (underwriters)
Key People
- Chris Britt
- Ryan King
- Matt Newcomb
- Mark Troughton
- Vineet Mehra
Key Competitors
- SoFi —
- Varo Bank —
- Current —
- Cash App (Block) —
- Revolut —
- NuBank (Nubank) —
Timeline Highlights
- 2025-06-12: IPO on Nasdaq (CHYM) at $27 ($864M, $11.6B pricing, $18.4B FD)
- 2025-05-15: Q1 2025 revenue $518M (+32% YoY) - 22M accounts, 9.5M actives
- 2024-12-31: FY2024 revenue $1.673B
- 2024-02-01: Introduces Chime+ premium bundle
- 2023-06-01: Launches MyPay on-demand wage access up to $500
- 2021-08-16: Series G $750M at $25B peak valuation
- 2020-09-01: Series F $485M at $14.5B valuation
- 2020-06-01: Launches Credit Builder secured Visa
- 2019-12-01: Series E $500M at $5.8B - reaches 6.5M accounts
- 2019-03-01: Series D $200M at $1.5B - launches SpotMe
- 2018-03-15: Series C $70M led by Menlo Ventures - hits 1M accounts
- 2014-09-01: Launches pilot banking app on The Bancorp
- 2012-10-01: Chime founded by Chris Britt & Ryan King in San Francisco
Recent News
- Chime Shares Jump 37% in Nasdaq Debut After $864M IPO (2025-06-12)
- Chime FY2024 Revenue $1.673B, Q1 2025 $518M Up 32% (2025-05-15)
- Chime vs SoFi: The Neobank Showdown Post-IPO (2025-06-20)
- Chime's $25B to $11.6B Journey: Inside the Fintech Reset (2025-06-10)
Similar Startups
- Phantom — The leading multichain crypto wallet — a self-custody consumer finance app with 15M+ monthly active
- Kalshi Wiki — The regulated exchange for trading on real-world events
- Metronome — Usage-based billing infrastructure for software
- Rillet — The AI-native ERP for modern finance teams
- Skyfire — Financial infrastructure for autonomous AI commerce
More Fintech / Neobanking Startups
- Revolut — The global money app — one app for all things money
- Monzo — The bank that makes money work for everyone
Browse: Home | Blog | About | All Startups A-Z | View full profile on StartupWiki