Ibotta Rewards Startup Gets Funding Infusion For Hiring, Expansion

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Rewards company Ibotta announced it has closed a series D funding round led by Koch Industries subsidiary Koch Disruptive Technologies, bringing Ibotta to a $1 billion valuation.

The funding will be used to further the company’s turnkey and rewarded payments solution Pay with Ibotta. Launched earlier this year, the solution allows shoppers to pay for their purchase at leading retailers through the Ibotta app and earn cash back instantly.

“While we’ve reached the point of critical mass awareness when it comes to paying with our phones, there’s still one piece missing on the path to true adoption: rewards,” Bryan Leach, founder and CEO of Ibotta, said in a press release. “Through a shared vision with KDT and our expertise in rewards and consumer psychology, we are best-positioned to transform the emerging $100 trillion global payments market. The excitement of cash rewards will be the flash point in changing consumer behavior and driving adoption of new forms of mobile payments worldwide.”

Ibotta has more than 35 million users who receive cash rewards for making purchases in-store, on mobile apps or via websites. To date, Ibotta has put $600 million back into consumers’ pockets, with over $200 million expected to be earned in 2019.

“KDT seeks to create win-win opportunities with our partners to create transformative value for society,” said Byron Knight, managing director of KDT. “Fintech, and payments specifically, is an industry ripe for innovation and disruption, and we recognize the incredible potential in Ibotta’s efforts to use rewards to completely change the way consumers shop — from when and where they shop to what they buy, to how they pay for it. Beyond being just a capital provider, we look forward to bringing additional capabilities to help Ibotta deliver even more value back to consumers.”

Ibotta will also use the funding to increase its workforce as it expands its downtown Denver presence.

“We are looking to attract people who are excited about building next generation consumer technologies and who want to be part of our fast-paced, bold culture of innovation here in Denver,” Leach said.