Toronto-based fintech darling Clearbanc has announced a Series C financing round that the company says brings its valuation to nearly US$2 billion. With this new funding and unicorn status, Clearbanc—co-founded by “Dragons’ Den” investor Michele Romanow—is also rebranding under the name Clearco to reflect its growing suite of products and services geared towards founders, beyond just providing growth capital.

The context: Clearco, whose core business involves giving cash to e-commerce businesses in exchange for a portion of revenue, says it has benefited from brick-and-mortar sellers’ massive shift to online retail during the pandemic. “All of these businesses had to become digital businesses,” said Romanow, Clearco’s president. “If you were a small business anywhere in the U.S. or Canada, you were thinking about how to grow your e-commerce presence.” The company uses machine learning to determine which startups to fund, in an entirely automated process that can seed companies with between $10,000 and $10 million in capital. Since it launched in 2015, Clearco has invested US$2 billion in more than 4,500 companies using its approach, which it says invests with less bias than human decision-making. The company cites, for example, that in 2020, Clearco funded eight times as many companies led by women compared with traditional VC firms.

The raise: Clearco’s latest funding round includes US$250 million in debt and US$100 million in equity financing, with Oak HC/FT leading the round, and new investors including Founders Circle and former Square Capital head Jackie Reses. Clearco plans to use the debt funding as capital for its investments and the equity financing to increase its headcount from about 300 to more than 600 employees, Clearco co-founder and CEO Andrew D’Souza said. The larger workforce (which will work remotely) will support new products that Clearco launched in the last year, such as ClearValuation, which offers automated advice for companies to increase their valuations and recommendations for connecting with investors.

The strategy shift: Clearco’s push into providing services for startups comes as the investment landscape becomes increasingly competitive, with investors under pressure to provide founders with more than just cash. VC firm Andreessen Horowitz has gained attention for its approach, which gives portfolio companies access to resources that help with recruiting, marketing, public relations, regulatory and corporate development. D’Souza said Clearco hopes to emulate a16z’s strategy, but on a larger scale. “They can only invest in so many companies, because it’s still human-driven,” D’Souza said.