X1 issues an income‑based, no‑annual‑fee stainless steel Visa that underwrites customers on income rather than credit scores and rewards users with points redeemable through its app. The card offers built‑in software features (subscription tracking, auto‑expiring virtual cards, refund notifications) and the company says it has given over $10M in reward points to date. X1 recently launched to the public (after a 13‑month private beta) and amassed a 600,000‑person waitlist before the public card launch in mid‑September. Revenue and spend have grown quickly: monthly revenue rose from ~$1M when it began Series B fundraising to ~$3M by October (a $36M annual run rate), and GMV moved from $50M in July to an expected $60M this month with a projected $1B annualized spend for 2022. Interchange fees are X1’s primary revenue source, supplemented by commissions from an in‑app shopping portal featuring merchants like Nike, Sephora, Apple and others. The company is rolling out an investing feature that will let cardholders buy stocks with reward points, and plans to use new capital for market expansion, product development and hiring (it currently has 36 employees and has made senior hires including Abhi Pabba and CFO Kieran Brady). X1 Card produces a 17-gram stainless-steel, Visa Signature-backed credit card that leverages software to deliver smart credit limits, virtual cards and an automated rewards program with no annual fee. Its app notifies members instantly about purchases, supports fast search and dispute workflows, and about 90% of cardholders use the app monthly. Virtual cards power roughly 10% of X1’s spend today and members have redeemed about $3M worth of points through the app. X1 sets higher limits by evaluating current and future income rather than relying solely on credit score and offers a family plan with individual metal cards. Since an October waitlist-only beta, X1 says it is the fastest-growing challenger credit card, is on track for $1B in annualized spend with a transaction every five seconds, has members in all 50 states and has been used in more than 100 countries. The company plans to open applications to its 500,000-person waitlist and the general U.S. public in the coming weeks and will use new capital to invest in product innovation and scale. X1 Card was co-founded by Twitter alums Deepak Rao and Siddharth Batra and positions itself as a technology-first credit card. The product is built from 17g of stainless steel with laser etching and is designed to provide smart credit limits, an enhanced rewards program, and automated spending features. X1 has partnered with Visa Signature, enabling card acceptance at more than 46 million merchants worldwide. The company reports a waitlist nearing 300,000. Financially, X1 recently completed a new financing round after securing $10 million in a Series A less than six months earlier. Leadership has emphasized bringing the card to market to serve those on the waitlist and modernize the credit card industry. Ash Gupta, former Chief Risk Officer at American Express, has joined X1 as an advisor.

Total raised

$52M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Series B

Latest activity

Dec 2022