Conservation | May 22, 2020

Aspiration secures $135 million to expand impact banking products

Jessica Pothering
ImpactAlpha Editor

Jessica Pothering

ImpactAlpha, May 22 – Aspiration launched in 2015 to offer a green and “conscious,” digital alternative to mainstream banks. It has since gone on to expand products from basic banking and checking to investment products, like its conservation-focused IRA.

Aspiration closed its Series C round with backing from Alpha Edison, hedge fund manager UBS O’Connor, DNS Capital, Radicle Impact, Sutter Rock and Social Impact Finance. Early backers include Omidyar Network, Capricorn Investments and celebrity environmental activists Leonardo DiCaprio and Orlando Bloom.

Aspiration co-founder Andrei Cherny told Fortune that the bank had seen an uptick in demand for sustainable finance products during the pandemic. “This crisis is accelerating trends that were already occurring, and one of those is the shift toward digital banking,” he said.