Ignition Partners is leading a $10 million venture capital round in WePay, a Silicon Valley online payments company. The money will be used to build out the company’s team and technology, with WePay claiming that its business grew by 10 times last year. The company certainly is entering a crowded field, one dominated for years by eBay-owned PayPal.
As part of the funding round, Ignition’s Chris Howard has joined the board. Other backers of the company include Highland Capital Partners, August Capital, Y Combinator, SVAngel, Dave McClure, YouTube founder Steve Chen, and PayPal co-founder Max Levchin. Total funding in the company — founded in 2008 and now employing 40 people — stands at $20 million.
The investment is the latest by Ignition in a San Francisco Bay Area company, following an extremely active pace of investment last year in which the Bellevue firm bankrolled more than a dozen California companies.
Here’s a closer look at how some small businesses and organizations are using WePay.