Rhythmic Raises $4M for Embedded Financial Products
Rhythmic, a startup founded by American Express and Visa alumni, has raised $4 million in funding. The company partners with brands to provide embedded, white-label financial products for their customers. The investment signals continued venture capital interest in API-first fintech platforms that enable non-financial companies to offer financial services.
- The $4 million seed round was led by Dragonfly, a venture capital firm focused on the crypto economy, with additional investment from Mirana Ventures and The Fintech Fund. - Rhythmic's co-founders are CEO Aaron Marks, an alumnus of American Express and the crypto financial services company Circle, and CPTO Joseph Hayes, who previously worked at Mastercard and later served as the head of crypto and stablecoin products for Walmart. - The company's strategy is to provide white-label financial products, including rewards and cash-back programs, for consumer brands, with the underlying infrastructure powered by stablecoins to enable faster and cheaper transactions. - Users of Rhythmic's partners will have access to a stored value account within the brand's ecosystem and will be issued a co-branded Visa card. - Dragonfly's investment aligns with its recent focus on funding the financial infrastructure of the crypto economy, with a particular emphasis on the growth and utility of stablecoins and decentralized finance (DeFi). - The use of stablecoins in embedded finance is a growing trend, aimed at reducing transaction fees and settlement delays associated with traditional payment rails like ACH and card networks. - Rhythmic aims to enable a wide range of companies to offer sophisticated financial products similar to the Starbucks loyalty program or Walmart's OnePay, but with a lower cost of implementation. - The fresh capital is intended to support the company's launch later in the year and to expand its team, with a focus on compliance and product development.
