Last week, San Francisco-based fintech startup Pilot announced that it raised $40 million in a Series C extension round led by Bezos Expeditions, the personal investment company of Jeff Bezos.
Three months ago the company raised $60 million in the first portion of its Series C. The latest cash infusion pushes the total for the round to $100 million and places the unicorn’s valuation at a whopping $1.2 billion.
Pilot’s fintech platform covers a wide range of back office services for startups and small businesses.
The company’s CFO service aims to fill the void left for SMBs without a full-stack finance team. Pilot pairs up SMB owners with financial experts to build personalized strategies with the goal of cutting costs. The platform directly integrates with existing billing, banking, expense and payroll systems.
“Whether it’s further streamlining how we deliver books or expanding the services we offer to take more tasks off of business owners’ shoulders, our guiding principle is always — how can we make the back office experience even better,” Waseem Daher, co-founder and CEO of Pilot, said in a statement.
Pilot provides its customers with a monthly variance analysis in an effort to encourage better budgeting decisions. The monthly report takes into account inventory statements, merchant fees, cost of goods sold and more.
Taxes are also covered on the platform. Pilot helps to prepare and file federal, state and local taxes on behalf of its clients.
“Many companies miss out on special tax credits available specifically to small businesses, including an R&D tax credit that can exceed $250,000 in savings,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement.
Pilot will use the additional capital to invest in its team as it continues to scale. The company is now hiring for dozens of remote and in-person positions at its San Francisco headquarters. Available roles span the company’s product, sales, people and engineering teams.
Daher launched Pilot in 2017 alongside co-founders Jeff Arnold and Jessica McKellar. It’s the trio’s third startup, following two successful exits.
“We couldn’t be more excited for what comes next — or grateful to the customers and partners who’ve helped us get here,” Daher said in a statement.
The Series C extension was co-led by Whale Rock Capital with additional participation from Sequoia Capital and Index Ventures.
Pilot has raised over $150 million in financing to date, according to the company.
