Bolt is trying to give itself more runway.
The checkout fintech is seeking up to $27 million in bridge financing from its existing investors as co-founder and CEO Ryan Breslow works to move the company past years of declining revenue, restructuring and difficult fundraising.
Breslow is also putting his own money behind the effort. He plans to contribute $5 million to the round and expects Bolt’s investor base to provide at least $15 million in total, with the company aiming for as much as $27 million.
The financing comes at a very different moment for Bolt than the one it faced during the fintech boom. In early 2022, the company was valued at $11 billion. Its valuation later fell to roughly $300 million as market conditions changed and the business struggled to maintain its earlier growth.
A bridge to Bolt’s next round
Bolt is raising the money through a convertible note, a form of short-term financing that can later convert into equity when the company completes another funding round.
The agreement also includes a pay-to-play provision. Existing investors that choose not to take part could see a significant portion of their ownership diluted, giving current backers a strong incentive to participate.
Bolt says the money will help it address older financial obligations while continuing the operational changes already underway. More importantly, the bridge round is intended to carry the company toward a larger Series E2 financing.
Breslow has not disclosed how much cash Bolt currently has available. He has, however, said the business is approaching profitability and beginning to grow again following several years of contraction.
That recovery effort is taking place inside a much smaller company.
Bolt had around 900 employees in 2021. Today, its workforce is closer to 60. Rather than rebuilding the company to its former size, Breslow is arguing that Bolt can operate differently, with a smaller team supported by automation and artificial intelligence.
Breslow’s second attempt at a turnaround
Breslow returned as Bolt’s CEO in March 2025, roughly three years after stepping away from the role.
Since returning, his strategy has involved more than reducing costs. Bolt is also trying to move beyond the one-click checkout product that originally made the company one of the most closely watched fintech startups in the market.
The company has been developing a broader financial platform that brings together checkout, peer-to-peer payments, cryptocurrency and credit card services. The idea is to create a wider relationship with consumers rather than relying primarily on online checkout transactions.
AI has also become part of Breslow’s argument for why a smaller Bolt can compete. He says the company is now able to develop products significantly faster with far fewer employees, allowing it to operate with a cost structure that would have been difficult several years ago.
Whether that efficiency translates into durable growth remains one of the biggest questions surrounding the company.
A different fundraising test
The bridge round also gives Bolt another opportunity to repair its relationship with investors following a troubled funding attempt.
Two years ago, the company pursued a proposed $450 million financing that would have valued Bolt at around $14 billion. The deal became controversial after disagreements emerged over its structure and the investors said to be participating.
Existing backers including BlackRock and Hedosophia later challenged the transaction in court. That litigation was eventually dismissed, but the financing itself never developed into the major capital injection Bolt had hoped for.
Breslow says the situation is different this time. According to him, Bolt’s board and a majority of its preferred shareholders have already approved the new financing.
That still leaves the company with an important test ahead.
Bolt needs enough of its existing investors to commit fresh capital, while also showing that its smaller workforce, new products and increased use of AI can produce a business capable of supporting another major funding round.
For Breslow, the bridge financing is another bet on a company he started in 2014 as a teenager. For Bolt, it could determine how much time the fintech has to turn its ambitious recovery plan into measurable growth.