Products

EMARKETER delivers leading-edge research to clients in a variety of forms, including full-length reports and data visualizations to equip you with actionable takeaways for better business decisions.
PRO+
New data sets, deeper insights, and flexible data visualizations.
Learn More
Reports
In-depth analysis, benchmarks and shorter spotlights on digital trends.
Learn More
Forecasts
Interactive projections with 10k+ metrics on market trends, & consumer behavior.
Learn More
Charts
Proprietary data and over 3,000 third-party sources about the most important topics.
Learn More
Industry KPIs
Industry benchmarks for the most important KPIs in digital marketing, advertising, retail and ecommerce.
Learn More
Briefings
Client-only email newsletters with analysis and takeaways from the daily news.
Learn More
Analyst Access Program
Exclusive time with the thought leaders who craft our research.
Learn More

About EMARKETER

Our goal is to unlock digital opportunities for our clients with the world’s most trusted forecasts, analysis, and benchmarks. Spanning five core coverage areas and dozens of industries, our research on digital transformation is exhaustive.
Our Story
Learn more about our mission and how EMARKETER came to be.
Learn More
Methodology
Rigorous proprietary data vetting strips biases and produces superior insights.
Learn More
Our People
Take a look into our corporate culture and view our open roles.
Join the Team
Contact Us
Speak to a member of our team to learn more about EMARKETER.
Contact Us
Newsroom
See our latest press releases, news articles or download our press kit.
Learn More
Advertising & Sponsorship Opportunities
Reach an engaged audience of decision-makers.
Learn More
Events
Browse our upcoming and past events, recent podcasts, and other featured resources.
Learn More
Podcasts
Tune in to EMARKETER's daily, weekly, and monthly podcasts.
Learn More

Clearco becomes the latest revenue-based financing fintech to score a mega-round

The news: The $215 million mega-round, led by Softbank, comes just a couple of months after a $100 million raise that brought Clearco’s valuation to $2 billion, per TechCrunch.

What does it do? Clearco is yet another revenue-based financing fintech aiming to offer startups equity-free capital. It has helped over 5,500 companies raise over $2.5 billion across ecommerce (ClearCapital), SaaS (ClearRunway), and early-stage (ClearAngel).

Trendspotting: The Clearco raise will sound familiar: Fintechs with very similar offerings have recently hoovered up millions in funding.

In Q2 alone, US-based Pipe and Capchase raised $250 million and $125 million, respectively, while their UK-based counterpart Uncapped raised $80 million.

Much like Clearco, these fintechs fund companies in exchange for a cut of their revenues from future sales for a set period of time. This alternative financing solution compares favorably with equity capital raises and loans, which reduce startup founders’ ownership of their companies or saddle them with interest debt.

Looking ahead: Revenue-based financing fintechs are expanding abroad in a bid to fuel growth. But they may need to slash their fees to compete within an increasingly crowded market.

Following their big raises, both Pipe and Capchase announced UK and European expansions. A small Poland-based fintech is also entering the European arena through a €12 million ($13.7 million) raise last month. Clearco, meanwhile—which is available in the US, Canada, and Europe—plans to use its funding to enter emerging markets and potentially acquire locally based competing offerings.

All of these fintechs are growing quickly within the same market—Capchase is expected to grow 400% by the end of the year while Pipe, Uncapped, and Clearco are all valued above $2 billion. Dipping into the same pool of companies will likely put them at loggerheads with one another and cause their fees to drop: Clearco currently charges between 6%–12% for ClearCapital, for example, the same as Uncapped’s fee but can be more expensive than Capchase’s 5%–10%.