Plaid raises funding at $6 billion valuation, enabling some employees to cash out

Zach Perret, CEO and co-founder of Plaid, speaks during the Silicon Slopes Tech Summit in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S., on Jan. 31, 2020. Plaid on Thursday announced a new funding round that values the fintech startup at $6 billion, down from $13.4 billion in 2021. The new funding will give some employees a way to cash out. The $575 million round was led by a batch of new investors including Franklin Templeton, Fidelity and BlackRock . Existing backers NEA and Ribbit Capital also participated, Plaid said. Plaid CEO Zach Perret said the startup saw a "substantial" growth year with record revenue and positive operating margins, though he did not provide specifics. The downsized valuation is a reflection of market conditions, he said. "The reality is our business is much stronger and revenue has grown quite substantially," Perret told CNBC. "The profitability of business has gotten quite a lot better, and yet we are impacted by market multiples, as many companies are." Plaid is "not re ... Read full article.