Currently ranked: 12
Previously ranked: 11
Meyer (Micky) Malka, a native Venezuelan known for being blunt, founded Ribbit Capital in 2012 to help modernize financial services.
After raising a $100 million early-stage venture capital fund the following year, Malka said in a Ribbit statement that he was taking aim at “an antiquated financial services industry that remains relatively untouched by the technology-driven evolution transforming other markets, ranging from social media sharing to professional enterprise services.”
His vision can be gleaned from the more than 30 companies in the Palo Alto, California–based firm’s portfolio. In September, Ribbit was part of an Andreessen Horowitz–led investment group that provided $39 million of financing to Earnin, formerly called Activehours, which created a mobile app that lets employees collect wages before a scheduled payday.
“If a guy wants to get paid after two days of work or five days of work or seven days of work, he should just get paid,” said Malka in a 2014 TechCrunch report.
Also last year, Ribbit led a $45 million series C round for Capital Float, an online lender for businesses in India, and made investments in loan data provider dv01; digital mortgage broker Habito; and Goodlord, an electronic processor of paperwork for landords and their tenants.
Other companies in the firm’s portfolio include Cheddar, a post–cable news network; Credit Karma, which provides free credit scores; and digital-currency wallet providers Coinbase and Xapo.