Bolt is seeking up to $27 million in bridge funding as co-founder and chief executive Ryan Breslow attempts to keep the troubled checkout company afloat and prepare it for a larger Series E2 fundraising.
The short-term financing is being offered to existing investors as a convertible note. The investment will convert into shares at a discount when Bolt completes a future funding round.
It also contains a “pay-to-play” clause: investors who decline to contribute risk losing a substantial proportion of their existing stake. Breslow is committing $5 million personally, while estimating that investors will provide at least $15 million in total.
Bolt has about 100 investors, although not all are expected to take part. At least one angel investor has confirmed through his wealth manager that he intends to participate.
The company said the fundraising would allow it to build on “recent operational milestones”, settle “legacy obligations” and move towards completing its Series E2 round. Breslow has not disclosed the nature of those obligations or how much cash Bolt currently has.
Bridge rounds are commonly used either to give a growing company time to reach a fundraising milestone or to provide additional runway while it cuts costs, restructures or works towards profitability. Breslow said Bolt was approaching profitability and had returned to growth after years of declining revenue.
Bolt’s funding plans follow failed $450m deal
The financing comes after a much larger fundraising attempt collapsed two years ago. Breslow had sought $450 million at a valuation of $14 billion, but existing investors including BlackRock and Hedosophia sued to block the deal.
The challenge followed revelations that an investor identified as a lead backer denied taking part, while another had offered $250 million in marketing credits rather than cash. The lawsuit was later voluntarily dismissed by all parties.
Breslow said Bolt’s board and a majority of its preferred shareholders had approved the latest fundraising, unlike the failed 2024 proposal.
The company was valued at $11 billion in early 2022, but that figure subsequently fell by 97 per cent to about $300 million. Breslow returned as chief executive in March 2025, three years after stepping down, following a period marked by legal disputes and conflict with investors.
He has blamed the intervening years for the loss of customers and said Bolt would be in a stronger position had he remained in charge. The business, which he founded in 2014 at the age of 19 after leaving Stanford, has reduced its workforce from about 900 in 2021 to roughly 60.
Breslow is now betting on a “super app” launched by Bolt last year, combining one-click checkout with financial services, peer-to-peer payments, cryptocurrency and credit cards. He said artificial intelligence had helped the much smaller workforce operate more efficiently.
“I believe in Bolt more than anyone could possibly imagine. I believe Bolt is worth saving,” Breslow said.
He compared his ambitions with the relationship between ride-hailing company Lyft and payments giant Stripe, saying: “I think we can be the Lyft to Stripe’s Uber.”
Breslow said friends had offered him $10 million to abandon the turnaround and start a new business, but he had chosen to continue with Bolt. Whether existing backers will provide enough support to meet the bridge round’s target remains unclear.
