Petal raises $35M, spins out Prism Data

Consumer credit card startup Petal has raised another $35 million and is spinning out its B2B data analytics subsidiary Prism Data as a standalone entity.

Why it matters: The spinoff of the B2B business will let Petal make its cash flow underwriting tools available to more lenders.

Details: The funding round was led by longtime Petal backer Valar Ventures and includes participation from Story Ventures, Core Innovation Capital, RiverPark Ventures, as well as strategic investors Synchrony and Samsung Next.

• The funds will be split between Petal and Prism Data, but the primary purpose of the financing is to establish the B2B data arm as an independent entity.

Of note: In early 2022, New York City-based Petal announced that it had raised $140 million in Series D funding at an $800 million valuation.

Flashback: Petal was founded in 2016 to help consumers with little or no credit history responsibly build their credit through its mobile app and Visa credit card products.

• To understand users' finances better, the startup built open banking infrastructure that would allow it to access their bank account transaction data and determine their creditworthiness based on earning, saving, and spending trends.
• In 2021, it began making that infrastructure and data analytics technology available as a B2B offering to financial institutions, fintechs, and other lenders through Prism Data.
• "We recognized that a lot of what we had done in the credit card category would be applicable all over the market," Petal founder and CEO Jason Rosen tells Axios.

What's next: Now, the firm is fully spinning the data subsidiary out as an independent entity.

• Rosen will oversee both units, but Prism has a dedicated team that includes former Bloom Credit and Green Dot exec Erin Allard serving as its GM.
• Leadership also includes VP of data science Brian Duke, who previously held roles at Petal, Experian, and Accenture, among others; and head of partnerships Kimberly Gartner, who worked for the Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI).