Backing Highbeam: The AI Finance Platform Built for Brands
Running a consumer brand is a constant juggling act. Margins are tight, sales are seasonal, and decisions like when to order inventory or how much to spend on marketing can make or break a quarter. Yet most founders are stuck relying on outdated banking products, clunky dashboards, and spreadsheets that never quite reconcile.
The turbulence in the small business banking world over the past year only reinforced what operators already knew: traditional providers weren’t designed for modern, nimble brands. Founders need more than a place to park their deposits. They need AI-enabled financial platforms that help them plan for the future, make decisions in real time, and bank with confidence.
A new kind of financial partner
Highbeam was founded to be that partner. What began with better banking — transparent accounts, competitive yields, and FDIC insurance — has evolved into a full financial operating system built specifically for consumer brands.
Three capabilities set it apart. First, AI-automation that shows operators a real-time picture of their business and forecasts what’s ahead. Second, integrated financial products — from high-yield accounts to flexible credit — designed and optimized for the rhythms of retail and ecommerce. And third, autonomous finance agents that go beyond reporting to recommend, and even execute, actions that improve outcomes for the business.
For founders, that means they can ask and answer the questions that matter most: Can I afford a bigger production run this month? Do we have the runway to open another store? How will higher ad spend impact cash flow?
With Highbeam, those answers are clear, timely, and actionable.
Stories from the brands they serve
The best measure of Highbeam’s impact is how its customers describe it.
One fast-growing apparel brand told us that Highbeam’s high-yield accounts didn’t just save them money — the additional income helped fund a major marketing campaign that propelled its growth.
A DTC furniture company shared how their finance team had been bogged down by manual cash flow planning beforeHighbeam’s forecasting tools automated the process, freeing up employee time to focus on more meaningful strategic decisions.
And for a consumer goods brand with heavy seasonality, the founders relied on Highbeam’s scenario planning to navigate the crunch of holiday inventory. What had once required painstaking manual analysis became manageable, helping them avoid costly stockouts during their busiest season.
Across these stories, the theme is the same: Highbeam isn’t just a better bank, it’s a trusted financial partner embedded in the daily decisions that drive growth.
The team behind Highbeam
Highbeam cofounders: Gautam (left) and Samir (right) in NYC.
The strength of Highbeam’s team lies in its complementary perspectives. Samir Shergil (co-founder, CEO) brings technical rigor and strategic experience, having started at Microsoft, advised at McKinsey, and led product at AppNexus through its $1B+ acquisition by AT&T. Gautam Gupta (co-founder, CTO) adds fintech and commerce expertise from his time at Shopify, Venmo, and Alloy, grounding the platform in the realities of brand operations. And David Segal, founder of DAVIDsTEA and Firebelly Tea, contributes the operator’s lens — the lived experience of navigating cash flow, growth, and scale as a consumer entrepreneur. That combination of skills and perspectives is what makes Highbeam a platform that brands can trust.
Together, they’ve built a company that customers consistently describe as highly innovative, relentlessly supportive, and deeply human. In diligence, we heard again and again that working with Highbeam feels less like dealing with a financial institution and more like having a strategic partner who genuinely wants the business to succeed.
Why we’re excited
The opportunity ahead is enormous. Independent consumer brands represent nearly a trillion dollars in annual sales. Within that landscape, Highbeam has already become the system hundreds of operators rely on to store, move, and optimize their finances. This year, the platform will manage more than $5B in transactions, driving revenue growth of more than 3x YoY.
We’re especially excited by how deliberately the team prioritizes impact. Highbeam isn’t chasing every workflow or feature — they’re focused on the finance processes where they can deliver measurable outcomes: higher yields, faster decisions, and less time wasted on manual reporting. That discipline has allowed them to become a foundational platform for the brands they serve.
We’re proud to have led Highbeam’s $30M Series A alongside FirstMark, Mayfield, Two Sigma Ventures, and Vesey Ventures, among others. This new funding will accelerate development of AI tooling, expand access to best-in-class financial partners, and deepen vertical-specific benchmarks and optimizations.