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Startup-focused business banking that earns through cards, deposits, foreign exchange, and related fees.
“We were the first US neo bank with wire support.” Mercury paired a startup-specific workflow with a connected founder ecosystem, then grew into a multi-product financial platform.
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Founded in 2017 and launched in April 2019, Mercury addressed the friction entrepreneurs faced with conventional banks. Akhund had experienced those problems as a founder and spent roughly a year and a half building before launch. Its early customer was a startup that needed reliable wires, multi-user permissions, and a technology-first banking experience. The company now serves about 300,000 businesses across technology, ecommerce, and professional services. The interview cited an annualized revenue run rate of $650 million, reported toward the end of 2025, and said the current figure was somewhat higher without giving a replacement number. Revenue comes from card interchange, revenue sharing on deposits held at partner banks, FX, and other fees. Mercury raised $200 million at a $5.2 billion valuation in May 2026 and is pursuing a conditional bank charter.
For a founder selling business banking to startups, the first customers should come from a concentrated ecosystem where trust travels between operators.
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Data credibility: The revenue run rate and customer count are creator-reported in the interview, with the $650 million figure attributed to a prior company report and no audit evidence presented. Akhund confirmed the earlier figure was somewhat higher at interview time but did not provide an updated number.
The first dollar for a fintech like Mercury should arrive through a narrow, painful workflow rather than a broad promise to replace a bank.
Mercury’s early flywheel came from starting with a connected customer group. The founder said more than half of each Y Combinator batch uses the service, and that startups adopting one good tool tend to recommend it across their ecosystem.
A long build period and a regulated launch can make early progress feel slow. Mercury’s founding team spent about a year and a half building and went through multiple bank partners because the product pushed beyond what partners initially supported.
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