The Venture Codex

Participated · Equity · Aug 2022

Grasshopper is a client-first digital bank that provides tailored banking solutions for small businesses, startups, venture capital and private equity firms, fintechs (BaaS), and commercial clients. Its product set includes secure depository accounts, flexible lending (including SBA, commercial real estate, and yacht lending), commercial APIs, and white-labeled consumer banking. Following a merger with Auto Club Trust, FSB, Grasshopper is expanding consumer offerings through an affinity partnership with The Auto Club Group while continuing to deepen business banking capabilities. The company plans to scale its technology and broaden its product suite to serve a wider and more diverse customer base. Grasshopper reported strong growth: total assets grew 53% to $1.33 billion, total deposits rose 81% to $2.37 billion, and total loans reached $961.8 million at June 30, 2025 (up 49% versus December 31, 2024). The bank is headquartered in New York and positions itself as a full-service, industry-focused digital bank. Grasshopper Bank is a digitally native commercial bank focused on serving the innovation economy and steadily growing, profitable companies, including regionally focused businesses and ecosystem service providers. The bank emphasizes streamlined, digitally driven services—account opening can be completed online in under ten minutes—and uses technology to underwrite loans with new criteria so it can serve companies that need smaller financings (under $5 million). Grasshopper aims to act as a partner to entrepreneurs, provide referrals for financing options it does not offer, and improve access for women- and minority-owned businesses. Judith Erwin, the CEO, draws on prior experience helping found Square 1 Bank and leadership roles at Comerica, Imperial Bank, and Plaza Bank of Commerce. Grasshopper opened to beta testers on May 13, 2019 and planned a broad rollout in early 2020. The bank built an expert, independent board and secured regulatory approval as the first OCC-chartered bank in the Northeast in more than ten years (the ninth charter since the 2008 crisis).