Kabbage

One of the leading U.S. online small business lenders prior to acquisition by American Express in 2020

Kabbage was an Atlanta-based financial technology company founded in 2009 that specialized in providing automated funding and cash flow solutions to small businesses. The company used data analytics and machine learning to evaluate business performance in real time, enabling faster lending decisions than traditional banks. Kabbage offered lines of credit, business checking accounts, and cash flow insights through its platform, serving hundreds of thousands of small businesses across the United States. Kabbage raised significant venture capital and grew to become one of the leading online small business lenders in the U.S., competing with companies like OnDeck and Funding Circle. Its technology-driven underwriting model, which pulled data from sources like PayPal, QuickBooks, and Amazon seller accounts, was considered innovative in the fintech space. The company also participated in the U.S. government's Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) during the COVID-19 pandemic, processing billions in loans. In August 2020, American Express announced the acquisition of Kabbage's technology platform and team, though the loan portfolio was not included in the deal. American Express subsequently rebranded the platform as 'Kabbage from American Express,' integrating it into its small business financial services offerings. Kabbage's connection to AdTech is peripheral — it appears in the ATDb lineage as an acquirer or parent entity of a company that operated in the advertising technology space.