# Fizz **Source:** https://geo.sig.ai/brands/fizz **Vertical:** Finance **Subcategory:** General **Tier:** Emerging **Website:** joinfizz.com **Last Updated:** 2026-04-14 ## Summary SF student fintech providing credit-building debit card and financial education at 300+ universities; YC $14.4M Kleiner Perkins seed building credit history for college students without debt competing with Chime for young adult financial services. ## Company Overview Fizz is a San Francisco-based student financial platform — backed by Y Combinator with $14.4 million raised in a Series Seed round in June 2024 from Kleiner Perkins, SV Angel, YC, and founders of eight unicorn companies — providing college students at 300+ US universities with a debit card that builds credit history automatically (reporting to credit bureaus based on spending patterns without requiring debt), a free credit score monitoring dashboard, personalized spending insights, financial education courses, and budgeting tools designed to help young adults build credit and develop financial literacy without the risk of credit card debt. Founded by Carlo Kobe and Scott Smith (Harvard and Cornell dropouts who identified the gap in student financial products), Fizz has evolved from a credit-building debit card to a comprehensive student money app (updated October 2024). Fizz's credit-building mechanism solves the chicken-and-egg credit problem that students face: building a credit score requires credit history, but getting approved for credit cards requires an existing credit score — students fresh out of high school have neither. Fizz's secured debit card approach uses the student's own spending (tracked through the Fizz card) to demonstrate financial responsibility to credit bureaus without requiring the student to borrow money or carry a balance, creating the credit tradeline history that enables future credit applications (apartments, auto loans, student loan refinancing post-graduation). The free credit score monitoring, personalized spending breakdowns (categorizing coffee, dining, textbooks, and entertainment spend), and financial education modules (credit scores explained, budgeting basics, financial goals) position Fizz as a financial education platform rather than just a payment instrument. In 2025, Fizz competes in the student fintech and credit-building market with Chime (neobank with credit-builder feature, $750M raised), Current (teen and young adult neobank, $220M raised), and Possible Finance (credit-building installment loans, $35M raised) for college student financial services. The student financial product market has strong distribution dynamics around university networks — Fizz's 300+ university partnerships (student group endorsements, campus ambassador programs, institutional partnerships) provide the enrollment that general consumer fintech apps cannot access. Kleiner Perkins' investment (the firm's first student fintech bet in a decade) signals conviction in the student financial services category. The graduation-to-professional financial services upsell (students who use Fizz through college become young professional customers for banking, investing, and credit products) is the long-term commercial thesis. The 2025 strategy focuses on growing the university partnership network, building the financial wellness certification for students who complete the education modules, and developing the post-graduation financial products. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Fizz? Fizz is a student-focused financial technology company that provides the #1 money app for young adults. Founded in 2021, Fizz helps students build credit safely through a unique debit card combined with credit-building features, serving over 300 universities across the United States. ### What products and services does Fizz offer? Fizz offers a credit-building debit card, credit score monitoring, personalized spending insights, financial education courses, and budgeting tools. The Money App includes free features like credit score checks, financial literacy programs, and fraud protection. ### Who is Fizz designed for? Fizz is designed for students and young adults at universities across the United States. The company specifically targets Gen Z users who want to build credit safely while managing their money. ### When was Fizz founded and by whom? Fizz was founded in 2021 by Carlo Kobe and Scott Smith, both Harvard and Cornell dropouts. The company participated in Y Combinator's Summer 2021 (S21) batch. ### Where is Fizz headquartered? Fizz is based in San Francisco, California. ### How much funding has Fizz raised? Fizz raised $14.4M in Series Seed funding in June 2024. The funding round was led by Kleiner Perkins, SV Angel, Y Combinator, and founders of eight unicorn companies. ### How many universities does Fizz serve? Fizz currently serves students at over 300 universities across the United States. ### How does Fizz's credit-building approach work? Fizz uses a unique approach that combines a debit card with credit-building features, allowing students to build credit safely. This technology enables young adults to establish credit history while using what functions like a debit card. ### How can I get started with Fizz? Based on the provided information, Fizz serves students at over 300 universities across the United States through its Money App. Specific contact or sign-up details are not included in the available information. ### What are Fizz's recent developments? In October 2024, Fizz launched the next evolution of its Money App with enhanced free features including credit score checks, personalized spending insights, and financial courses. This followed their $14.4M Series Seed funding round in June 2024. ## Tags b2c, fintech, payment-processing, mobile-first, startup, north-america --- *Data from geo.sig.ai Brand Intelligence Database. Updated 2026-04-14.*