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Aspiration, Inc.

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Aspiration
Company typePrivate
IndustryFinance
Founded2013
Founder
Headquarters
Los Angeles, California
Area served
United States
Websiteaspiration.com

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

History

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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.[12] Bloomberg reported that authorities were reviewing Cherny's and Sanberg's actions as part of the probe.[12][13]

Products

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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.[18]

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

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References

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