FinTech News
Future Raises $6.5 Million, Acquires Fan Rewards
A FinTech focused on helping the environment while rewarding customers has announced two big developments: a fresh round of venture capital and an acquisition.
About the round and acquisition:
This week, the climate-centric startup Future announced it had raised $6.5 million. The Series A funding came from new and returning investors — although participants were not specified. To date, the company has now raised $11.8 million including its 2022 seed round.
With the new funds, Future has also announced the acquisition of Fan Rewards. Described as an AI-driven rewards platform for fans, the FinTech intends to use the service to further encourage consumers to make climate-friendly choices.
As a result of the transaction, Fan Rewards co-founder Mike Garon will now serve as Head of Engineering at Future while co-founder Kendall Tucker will be Head of Product.
About Future:
Future is a neobank that seeks to reward customers for their eco-friendly purchases. As part of this, its debit card offers up to 5% back on select purchases, such as public transit and secondhand stores. Additionally, that 5% back extends to purchases at more than 50,000 sustainable businesses. Similarly, accountholders can earn up to 10% back on renewable energy purchases.
Looking forward, Future says that it reimagined its roadmap to achieving a low-carbon future. The company says that, in order to reach a sustainable economy, “a built-in ability to effectively price carbon into everyday spending decisions” is needed.
What they’re saying:
Commenting on these developments, Future board member and Active Impact Investments founder/managing partner Mike Winterfield said, “Future’s innovative approach to incentivize carbon reduction is exactly the kind of disruption we need to rapidly address climate change at scale. The consumer demand for climate-friendly choices is growing and Future both quantifies the benefit of green purchases while making them accessible on any budget.”
Meanwhile, Future’s aforementioned new Head of Product Kendall Tucker said of the company, “The paradigm of paying more to ‘be green’ is over. The union between Future and Fan Rewards expands Future’s growing community to digital creators and their fans, leveraging AI to identify the most rewarding ways to go green.”
My thoughts:
Future as a company has interested me since I first heard about them a couple of years ago. At the time, I figured they’d follow a similar path to the likes of Aspiration. However, they’ve managed to surprise me in a few ways — including with this latest news. Overall, I’m excited by the possibilities of Future’s current path and look forward to seeing where the newly expanded company goes from here.