Mercury (fintech company)

The three founders formed Mercury in 2017. After roughly a year and a half of development and private testing, the team publicly launched the product on April 16, 2019, aiming to give startups an account and money-management experience better suited to running a business online.⁠[1][2]

The platform provides financial services through partner banks while building its own interface and financial tools for businesses. Everyday needs of business customers, such as onboarding review, managing multiple owners, checks, ACH, and domestic and international wires, meant the product spanned both software and banking processes.⁠[3][4]

Mercury closed a $20 million Series A led by CRV and released the first version of its API. The open interface let customers bring account data and money movement into their own business systems, adding a way to use the service beyond the web interface.⁠[5]

The company closed a $120 million Series B led by CoatueCoatueCoatue is a technology- and innovation-focused investment management firm founded by Philippe Laffont in 1999, operating in both public and private markets. Its current website lists Thomas Laffont as co-founder and chief investment officer of private investments; a Form ADV filed on July 29, 2026, disclosed regulatory assets under management of $92,705,722,582.Open the full entry at a $1.62 billion valuation, with participants including Figma co-founder Dylan Field. It also announced a $5 million allocation reserved for a customer crowdfunding round; announcing the allocation did not mean it had been fully subscribed.⁠[6]

Mercury launched Vault, using arrangements such as a deposit sweep network to help businesses manage the risk to their funds. The announcement said at the time that eligible deposits could receive up to $5 million in FDIC insurance coverage. Insurance on deposits spread across multiple banks differs from the investment nature of money market funds, so not every cash product on the platform should be treated as covered by deposit insurance.⁠[7]

Mercury Raise changed from a cohort-based fundraising support program for startups into an always-open resource and networking platform. The earlier program had run since 2020; after the change it centered on a founder community, investor introductions and expert support, adding startup resources beyond account services.⁠[8]

The company integrated bill pay, invoicing and accounting features more deeply into its account platform. Businesses could handle payables and receivables in the same system they used to manage money, extending the product from account operations to day-to-day financial management.⁠[9]

Mercury announced a $300 million Series C at a $3.5 billion valuation, led by Sequoia CapitalSequoia CapitalSequoia Capital is a venture capital firm founded by Don Valentine in 1972, investing from the seed stage through the growth stage. Its historical investments include Apple, Cisco, Google, YouTube, Airbnb, and Stripe; in 2021 it introduced the Sequoia Capital Fund structure, which can continue to hold public securities, and in 2023 its regional businesses became independent brands and partnerships.Open the full entry. The round included both new primary investment and a secondary transaction.⁠[10]

The company applied to establish Mercury Bank, N.A. in Utah, with Jon Auxier named as chief executive and president of the proposed bank. Mercury Technologies Inc. would be its parent, and a federal holding-company application was also involved. The plan was intended to let the company offer services within its own bank, and was at the application stage at the time.⁠[1]

On April 2, Mercury announced the acquisition of Central, expanding into payroll, employee benefits and related compliance services; the Central team joined the company.⁠[11]

On April 24, the Office of the Comptroller of the CurrencyOffice of the Comptroller of the CurrencyThe Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is an independent U.S. Treasury bureau that supervises national banks and other institutions.Open the full entry granted preliminary conditional approval to the application for Mercury Bank, N.A. The bank's opening still depended on meeting the preconditions set out in the approval.⁠[12]

The company closed a $200 million Series D led by TCV at a $5.2 billion valuation. The announcement also said it had more than 300,000 customers, a figure the company published for that point in time.⁠[13]

Mercury launched Command, an AI assistant built into its accounts, and made it available to all customers. Users can ask it in natural language to work with live account data: categorizing transactions, retrieving account details, comparing cash positions over time, or preparing contractor payments and customer invoices. The company said actions Command prepares are carried out only after the user approves them, under existing controls such as payment approval rules, daily limits, dual-admin approval and spend controls; actions are logged, and card numbers, Social Security numbers and credentials are not passed to the underlying AI model.⁠[14]

Mercury introduced two exclusive fund share classes for its Treasury service: MCRYX, an ultra-short bond fund built with Morgan StanleyMorgan StanleyMorgan Stanley is an American global financial services firm that grew from an investment banking partnership into a publicly traded financial group spanning investment banking, securities trading, wealth management, and investment management.Open the full entry Investment Management, went live that day, and MRGXX, a government money market fund share class built with State StreetState StreetState Street Corporation is a Boston-based US financial services group serving institutional investors through investment servicing, investment management and market services. Its businesses include custody, fund accounting and administration, investment software and SPDR funds. It trades on the New York Stock Exchange as STT.Open the full entry Investment Management, followed the next week. Treasury is managed by Mercury Advisory, an SEC-registered investment adviser; applying requires at least $250,000 across Mercury accounts, and existing holdings were migrated automatically. The announcement also stated that Mercury is not an FDIC-insured bank and that deposit insurance covers only the failure of an insured bank.⁠[15]

Immad Akhund announced that the FDIC had approved the deposit insurance application for the proposed Mercury Bank, N.A., and that the bank was expected to open in 2027. He also made clear that Mercury was still a fintech company providing services through partner banks. The expected opening date is a company plan.⁠[16][17]

On October 19, Immad Akhund said on the Newcomer podcast that Mercury had reached $1 billion in annualized revenue, up about 50% year over year, with more than 450,000 customers; the figures were provided by the company.⁠[18]

On October 20, the company launched Mercury Payroll, which handles W-2 and 1099 contractor payroll, health benefits, 401(k) plans and the related tax filings, registrations and compliance from customers’ existing Mercury accounts, covering all 50 U.S. states. The team from Central, acquired in April, helped build the product. It is free for eligible customers through the end of 2026; from 2027 it costs $100 a month for the platform plus $50 a month for each person paid that month. Existing Central customers were to be moved to the new interface over the following weeks.⁠[19]