Karat Financial raises $70M and teams with Visa on credit cards for creators

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Karat Financial, a financial services platform for creators, has raised $70 million in a combination of debt and equity financing aimed at building a new kind of personal credit card.

Karat, based in Los Angeles, also announced a partnership with Visa, designed specifically to help content creators establish personal credit history and improve access to capital.

The card is one of several tools offered by Karat to support the $250 billion creator economy, which has faced significant challenges in accessing credit from conventional banks that typically require a consistent monthly income and focus on traditional revenue streams.

The new Karat business card provides creators with several benefits, including personal credit building, exclusive events and collaborations, purchase protection, and simplified taxes.

Karat cofounders Eric Wei and Will Kim believe that the financial tools they provide will help creators bring their creative ideas to fruition. The company’s underwriting model measures the unique creditworthiness of creators, enabling them to access higher limits and exclusive rewards.

They started the company after finding that many creators, riding on revenue from millions of fans, couldn’t get simple lines of credit because traditional banks didn’t understand their businesses. Conventional banks, which typically require a consistent monthly income and focus on traditional revenue streams, often deny high-earning creators access to the capital and credit needed to expand their businesses.

Karat Financial raised a combined $70 million in series B financing, including $30 million in debt financing from