GetUpside Becomes Upside, Raises New Capital and Debt Financing

Retail technology company GetUpside is being rebranded as Upside and has raised $65 million in equity financing and $100 million in debt financing, the company announced Tuesday (April 26).

Participants in the latest financing move included existing investors Bessemer Ventures and Builders VC and new investor General Catalyst, according to a press release, with the round bringing Upside’s valuation to $1.5 billion.

“With inflation at a 40-year high, we are at an inflection point right now for brick and mortar businesses, consumers, and our communities,” Upside co-founder and CEO Alex Kinnier said in a statement.

Upside presents its app users with offers to patronize local establishments, including cash rebates specific to particular businesses at a given time. On a recent day, a random sampling of offers around Boston, Massachusetts, produced cash back offers at restaurant and gas stations ranging from 7% to 16%.

Upside said that more than 50,000 stores, restaurants, gas stations and convenience stores nationwide work with it, per the release, and that 30 million customers have access to Upside through its apps or related apps. The company added that it has “driven $550 million back into local communities”and gives 1% of its revenue to sustainability work in the areas where it operates.

When describing its business, Upside stated that its technology “has helped millions of people get more purchasing power on the things they need, and tens of thousands of brick and mortar businesses earn measurable profit,” with its platform handling “billions of dollars” of commerce annually.

In addition to its Upside app, the company offers white label alternatives that let business power their own customer-rewards programs through Upside. According to Zoominfo, the company has about 250 employees and annual revenue of $128 million.

Last fall, PYMNTS reported that Upside was working with ride-hailing platform Uber to offer fuel and convenience store promotions to Uber drivers and delivery workers.

See also: Uber Wants to Help Drivers Save Through GetUpside

“Fuel and convenience store discounts were among the most requested, and we’re thrilled to be able to incorporate driver feedback into this partnership, which will give them the access to save at the pump as well as in-store purchases they have told us they want,” Carrol Chang, Uber head of driver operations for the U.S. and Canada, said at the time.