Oxygen is a startup that is bringing digital banking services to freelancers and micro-and small-sized businesses. It is in talks to raise a new round at a valuation of over $500 million.
How Oxygen started?
Oxygen has headquarters in San Francisco. As per the sources, the firm is in the advanced stages of talks to raise about $70 million. London-based Tribe Ventures is in talks to lead Oxygen’s Series B round.
Banks in the U.S. and elsewhere have traditionally refused to serve individuals without a traditional job and a consistent salary flow.
Hussein Ahmed, who previously worked at Amazon, faced this issue himself when he started to work as a freelance consultant for other startups. He says That’s when he stumbled upon the market segment they are serving today. Ahmed was working from a WeWork. He realized that everyone around him, from photographers to real estate brokers to accountants, was facing the same problem. It was then that Ahmed started Oxygen.
The neobank’s USP
The startup offers consumers and small businesses accounts at zero monthly fees. Furthermore, these accounts, which are FDIC insured, can be operated without a minimum balance. They also come with a Visa debit card.
The startup counts Y Combinator and Runa Capital among its backers. It has amassed over 600,000 customers.
Oxygen declined to comment on the fundraising talks. But through a spokesperson, Ahmed said the startup has seen a “massive growth in 2021,” and increased its revenue by 10 times this year. He said, “We are having continuous conversations about how to best fund our future plans and will comment when we can.”