Aspiration, Inc. Explained

Aspiration
Type:Private
Industry:Finance
Founded:2013
Hq Location City:Los Angeles, California
Area Served:United States

Aspiration is a sustainability-as-a-service company with global operations based in Los Angeles, California.[1]

History

Aspiration was founded in 2013 by Andrei Cherny and Joseph Sanberg.[2] [3] [4] It opened for business in February 2015.[5]

As of May 2020, Aspiration had raised over $250 million in funding.[6] [7] [8]

In August 2021, Aspiration announced that it would go public on the New York Stock Exchange by merging with the special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) InterPrivate III Financial Partners in a $2.3 billion merger. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021.[9] Ahead of the merger, Oaktree Capital Management and investment affiliates of billionaire Steve Ballmer committed $315 million in additional financing to Aspiration.[10]

In October 2022, Olivia Albrecht succeeded Andrei Cherny as CEO of Aspiration.[11]

In January 2024, the United States Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission launched an investigation into the firm's claims to have planted 35 million trees to offset carbon emissions. Cherny told ProPublica that only 12 million trees had been planted. Bloomberg reported that authorities were reviewing Cherny's and Sanberg's actions as part of the probe.[12] [13]

Products

In April 2017, the company launched a feature on its mobile app called Aspiration Impact Measurement (AIM), which examines 75,000 data points and shows scores for companies where Aspiration customers shop, based on how those companies treat people and the planet.[14] [15] Each Aspiration customer is also given a personal AIM score based on their purchasing behavior.[16]

In November 2015, the company launched the Aspiration Redwood Fund.[17] Aspiration says the mutual fund does not invest in companies involved in the alcohol, tobacco, arms and military, nuclear power, gambling, pornography, and oil and gas industries.[18] However, the fund owns shares in several companies that heavily use fossil fuels. Almost 3% of the fund's holdings are in Southwest Airlines's stocks, which has emitted 12.6 million tons of greenhouse gases in 2020; in contrast, only 2.3% of the fund's holdings are in sustainable energy stocks. The fund also owns shares of MSA Safety, a company making safety products for the military and fossil fuel industry.

The company allows its customers to name their own checking and investing fees through its "Pay What Is Fair" initiative.[19] [20]

Aspiration launched a feature called "Plant Your Change" in April 2020 that allows customers to round up any transaction to the nearest dollar to plant one tree.[21] By April of the following year, Aspiration customers collectively planted over 10 million trees.[22]

Launched in March 2021, the Aspiration Zero credit card offered cash-back rewards and allows cardholders to offset their carbon footprint by turning every purchase into a newly planted tree.[23] But in April 2023, the company announced the cards would be discontinued and the accounts closed the following month[24] [25] telling customers, "We've [Aspiration] made the difficult decision to discontinue the Aspiration Zero credit card program as we evaluate the best solutions for delivering positive climate action."[26]

Recognition

Notes and References

  1. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211122006192/en/CORRECTING-and-REPLACING-Qatar-Free-Zones-and-Aspiration-Join-Forces-to-Bring-Sustainability-Services-to-the-MENA-Region
  2. News: Aspiration's Big Idea in Financial Services? Name Your Own Price . Inc.com . 15 June 2017.
  3. Web site: How I Made It: He dreamed of a career in politics. Now he's shaking up consumer banking. 2019-07-21. Los Angeles Times. en-US. 2020-05-07.
  4. News: 2019-04-17. Digital banking startup Aspiration seeks new funding round. en. Reuters. 2020-05-07.
  5. News: Belanger . Lydia . Why This Former White House Aide Thinks People Deserve More From Banks . Entrepreneur . en . 21 June 2017.
  6. News: Mashayekhi . Rey . Exclusive: Neo-bank Aspiration raises $135M in Series C funding round . Fortune.
  7. News: Dave . Paresh . China's Renren leads $15.5-million investment in L.A. start-up Aspiration . Los Angeles Times.
  8. News: Martin . Scott . Aspiration Taps $47 Million for Conscientious Banking . Wall Street Journal.
  9. News: August 18, 2021 . Fintech Aspiration Plans to Go Public in Merger With a SPAC. The Deal Will Be Valued at $2.3 Billion . Barron's .
  10. News: December 15, 2021 . Oaktree, Ballmer Bet $315 Million on Aspiration Pre-Merger . Bloomberg .
  11. News: October 13, 2022 . Aspiration Announces Olivia Albrecht as CEO. Bloomberg .
  12. News: Gersony . Laura . The eco-friendly company this Arizona congressional candidate co-founded is under federal scrutiny . 6 February 2024 . The Arizona Republic . January 20, 2024.
  13. News: 2024-01-18 . US Probes Firm Tapped to Turn LA’s New Basketball Arena Green . 2024-01-30 . Bloomberg.com . en.
  14. This App Guilts You Into Not Buying From Crummy Companies . WIRED.
  15. News: A radical finance firm has an app that'll show you the impact of all of your purchases . Business Insider . de.
  16. News: Are Your Buying Habits Remotely Ethical? This Bank Account Will Tell You . Fast Company . 26 April 2017.
  17. News: How to Invest in Sustainable Practices . Richards . William . November 17, 2015 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20210209042915/https://www.thestreet.com/personal-finance/how-to-invest-in-sustainable-practices-13369657 . February 9, 2021 . live . November 20, 2021.
  18. Web site: The Celebrity-Backed Green 'Fintech' Company That Isn't as Green as It Seems . Kessler . Carson . November 17, 2021 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20211118051533/https://www.propublica.org/article/the-celebrity-backed-green-fintech-company-that-isnt-as-green-as-it-seems . November 18, 2021 . live . November 20, 2021.
  19. News: The 'Pay-What-You-Want' Money Manager That Profits From Your Tips . Inc.com . 20 July 2015.
  20. Web site: Wells Fargo Is Asking Customers To "Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is," And This Startup Is Pissed . BuzzFeed News . en.
  21. Web site: Haworth . Jack . New Program Helps Consumers Plant a Tree With Every Purchase For Only Pennies . Men's Journal.
  22. Web site: Aspiration Zero is the first credit card to 'eliminate' users carbon footprint: CEO . Yahoo.com.
  23. Web site: LA's socially conscious bank challenger, Aspiration, launches a carbon offset credit card . TechCrunch.
  24. Web site: Aspiration Discontinuing Zero Credit Card, Continues Pivot . April 10, 2023 . Fioney . April 22, 2023 . The climate-conscious FinTech Aspiration is making some changes. This week, the company announced that it was discontinuing its Aspiration Zero credit card..
  25. Web site: Aspiration launches first credit card: Earn cash back and plant trees with every purchase . April 11, 2023 . . April 22, 2023 . Aspiration has discontinued the Aspiration Zero credit card and will be closing accounts on May 3, 2023..
  26. Web site: What do I need to know about Aspiration Zero being discontinued? . April 20, 2023 . Aspiration . April 22, 2023.
  27. News: The Best Bank for Cash and Credit Card Users. October 5, 2015. MONEY. November 13, 2018. November 12, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181112025600/http://time.com/money/collection-post/4079857/best-checking-bank-account-aspiration-2015/. dead.
  28. News: Aspiration: Most Innovative Company. Fast Company. 2017-11-21. en-US.
  29. Web site: The 25 Most Disruptive Companies of the Year. Inc.com. en. 2017.
  30. Web site: Best Personal Loans For Good Credit . Money Under 30.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Aspiration, Inc.".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.