You’ve probably seen the sleek, minimalist cards in the hands of every startup founder from New York to San Francisco. Ramp seems to have come out of nowhere, but the truth is, the company wasn't built overnight. It's kinda wild how fast they grew, though.
If you're looking for the short answer, Ramp was founded in March 2019.
But that's just a date on a piece of paper. The real story started much earlier in a Harvard classroom and involves a bunch of obsession over why businesses were wasting so much money. Honestly, the founders—Eric Glyman, Karim Atiyeh, and Gene Lee—weren't even looking to build a credit card company at first. They just wanted to fix the mess that is corporate finance.
The Secret History of When Was Ramp Founded
Before there was a corporate card with a "Ramp" logo, there was an app called Paribus. Eric Glyman and Karim Atiyeh met at Harvard and launched Paribus to help consumers get automatic refunds when prices dropped after they bought something. It was a hit. Capital One ended up buying it in 2016.
That exit is where the seeds for Ramp were actually planted.
While working inside the belly of a giant bank like Capital One, they saw something weird. Traditional banks want you to spend more money. They lure you in with "points" and "miles" that are basically just breadcrumbs. Meanwhile, your finance team is drowning in paper receipts and software subscriptions that nobody uses.
Starting in the Shadows (2019)
By March 2019, the duo (along with Gene Lee) decided they could do it better. They set up shop in New York City. They didn't just start coding. They spent months talking to over 100 finance experts and CFOs. Basically, they were trying to figure out why everyone hated their expense reports.
The consensus? Most corporate cards are designed to be a "dumb" piece of plastic. Ramp was founded to be the opposite: a card that tells you not to spend money.
Why the 2020 Launch Was a Huge Risk
While the company was technically founded in 2019, it didn't actually open its doors to the public until February 2020. Talk about bad timing. Or maybe it was perfect timing?
The COVID-19 pandemic hit weeks later.
🔗 Read more: US Dollar to Hong Kong Dollar: Why the 7.80 Peg Still Matters in 2026
Suddenly, every business on the planet was terrified about their cash flow. They didn't care about "triple points on airfare" because nobody was flying. They cared about surviving. Ramp’s pitch—"we will help you find wasteful spending and close your books in minutes"—suddenly sounded like a lifeline instead of just another fintech tool.
- February 2020: Public launch and $15 million Series A.
- December 2020: Raised another $30 million.
- April 2021: Hit "Unicorn" status ($1.6 billion valuation) in record time.
It’s crazy to think that in less than two years from the day they incorporated, they were already worth a billion dollars. Most companies are still trying to figure out their logo at that stage.
The Growth Explosion: 2021 to 2026
Since that 2019 start date, Ramp has moved at a pace that Keith Rabois of Founders Fund called "unprecedented." They didn't just stay a card company.
They started eating the entire finance stack.
By late 2021, they launched Bill Pay. In 2024, they dropped Ramp Travel. By 2025, they were even getting into Treasury management. As of early 2026, Ramp is sitting at a valuation of around $32 billion. To put that in perspective: they went from a three-person idea in a New York apartment to a $32 billion powerhouse in less than seven years.
Why do people keep using them?
It's not just the 1.5% cashback. It’s the "thinking money" aspect.
The platform now uses AI to catch things like a $49,000 fake invoice or a software subscription that's been sitting idle for six months. In 2025 alone, their revenue crossed the $1 billion mark. They've gone from being the "scrappy underdog" to the "obvious choice" for companies like Shopify, Glossier, and thousands of others.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Founding
A lot of people think Ramp was a response to Brex. It's a common misconception. While Brex (founded in 2017) definitely paved the way for "startup cards," Ramp's foundation in 2019 was built on a different philosophy.
Brex was about access—giving cards to people who couldn't get them. Ramp was about efficiency—helping people who were spending too much.
They actually thrived when the economy turned sour in 2022. While other fintechs were struggling, Ramp's "save money" message became the only thing CEOs wanted to hear. They basically became the "frugality" platform of the tech world.
Actionable Steps for Your Business
If you're looking at Ramp's history and wondering if it's right for you, don't just look at the date they were founded. Look at your own books.
- Audit your "Zombie" subs: Use a tool (or a Ramp card) to find the software you're paying for but haven't logged into in 90 days.
- Kill the manual receipt chase: If your team is still taping receipts to pieces of paper, you're living in 2010. Switch to a platform that uses SMS or AI capture.
- Prioritize cashback over points: Unless you’re a pro at "travel hacking" for your business, cold hard cash is almost always better for your bottom line than confusing point multipliers.
- Check your pricing benchmarks: If you're paying for Slack, Zoom, or AWS, there's a good chance you're overpaying. Use data-driven negotiation tools to see what other companies of your size are actually paying.
Ramp's founding in 2019 marked a shift from "fintech for fun" to "fintech for survival." Whether you use them or a competitor, the goal should be the same: make your money smarter so you can get back to actually running your business.