Startups > Sunbit

Sunbit

Sunbit helps merchants and consumers split urgent service payments into affordable installments instantly.

Debt Financing $1.66B total Founded 2016 Los Angeles, California 344 employees

Sunbit is a B2B2C point-of-sale financing platform that embeds fast, transparent installment payment options into merchant checkout workflows, primarily in auto repair and healthcare. Using proprietary AI/ML, the platform approves 90% of applicants in under 30 seconds with just a driver's license, phone, and email. Merchants receive guaranteed upfront payment while Sunbit assumes credit risk, enabling 20-30% higher average order values and improved customer retention.

Problem solved

Merchants lose sales when customers can't afford urgent service bills upfront, while consumers with non-prime credit lack access to fast, fair financing at point-of-sale.

Target customer

Auto repair shops, dental practices, eyewear retailers, healthcare providers, and specialty service businesses with customers facing urgent, non-discretionary bills between $500-$10,000.

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Founders

Arad Levertov

CEO & Co-Founder

FinTech veteran with Major rank in Israeli Navy Seals; former COO at Enova International managing $800M business; MBA from Duke Fuqua; Operations & Systems Development experience at Intel.

Tal Riesenfeld

Co-Founder & Head of Sales

Co-founder of video advertising platform Eyeview; VP Sales at Eyeview; leadership roles at Google and Hewlett-Packard; MBA from Harvard Business School.

Ornit Dweck-Maizel

Co-Founder & CTO

Chief Technology Officer responsible for product and technological vision, system architecture, and engineering strategy.

Tamir Hazan

Co-Founder & Head of AI/ML

Co-founder leading analytics and AI/ML capabilities powering the proprietary underwriting engine.

Funding history

Seed $2.92M March 7, 2016 Led by Unknown · Unknown

Series B Unknown Q3 2018 Led by Zeev Ventures · Unknown

Series B $26M 2019 Led by Unknown · Unknown

Series C $100M 2020 Led by Unknown · Unknown

Series D $130M Unknown Led by Group 11 · Zeev Ventures, Migdal Insurance, Harel Group, AltaIR Capital, More Investment House

Asset-Backed Securitization $200M Unknown Led by Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Atlas SP Partners · Unknown

Debt Financing $310M January 2024 Led by Citi, Ares Management · Unknown

Debt Financing $355M November 2024 Led by JP Morgan, Mizuho Bank, Waterfall Asset Management · Unknown

Total raised: $1.66B

Industries

E-Commerce Finance FinTech Retail

Pricing

For consumers: Transparent terms with no origination fees, late fees, or penalty APRs; loans up to $20,000 with terms from 3-72 months. For merchants: 3-6% merchant discount rate (MDR) on transactions plus interest revenue from installment loans (55% of revenue from transaction fees in 2024-2025).

Notable customers

1-in-4 auto dealership parts and service departments nationwide, hundreds of eyewear and dental practices, specialty healthcare providers

Integrations

Salesforce (CRM), Google Workspace (Email), Amazon Web Services (PaaS), Stripe (assumed payment processing), merchant POS systems

Tech stack

GSAP (JavaScript frameworks) Slick (JavaScript libraries) LazySizes (JavaScript libraries) jQuery Migrate (JavaScript libraries) jQuery (JavaScript libraries) FancyBox (JavaScript libraries) core-js (JavaScript libraries) RSS Open Graph HTTP/3 WordPress (Blogs) Linkedin Insight Tag (Analytics) Google Analytics (Analytics) Facebook Pixel (Analytics) Dreamdata (Marketing automation) Mixpanel (Analytics) reCAPTCHA (Security) HSTS (Security) Font Awesome (Font scripts) Google Font API (Font scripts) PHP (Programming languages) Google Workspace (Email) Cloudflare (CDN) MySQL (Databases) AdRoll (Advertising) theTradeDesk (Advertising) Google Tag Manager (Tag managers) Salesforce (CRM) Yoast SEO (SEO) Amazon Web Services (PaaS) WP Engine (PaaS) AdRoll CMP System (Cookie compliance) Mailgun (Email) Google Tag Manager for WordPress (WordPress plugins) Contact Form 7 (WordPress plugins) Autoptimize (WordPress plugins) Friendbuy (Referral marketing)

Website

sunbit.com/

Competitors

Affirm

Broader BNPL platform across e-commerce and retail; Sunbit is specialized in high-friction B2B2C service workflows (auto repair, healthcare) with faster underwriting and higher AOV focus.

Klarna

Consumer-focused BNPL player primarily in e-commerce; Sunbit embeds financing into merchant POS systems for non-discretionary service purchases with merchant-guaranteed payment model.

Upstart

AI-powered lending platform with broader loan use cases; Sunbit focuses narrowly on point-of-sale installment financing for service industries with sub-30-second approvals.

Why this matters: Sunbit achieved unicorn status ($1.1B valuation in Series D) by solving a specific but massive problem: merchants losing 20-30% of potential revenue when customers can't afford urgent service bills upfront. The recent $355M debt facility (Nov 2024) and $200M ABS securitization demonstrate institutional confidence in the business model and unit economics, positioning Sunbit as a fintech player approaching scale in an underserved merchant financing category.

Best for: Auto repair shops, dental practices, optical retailers, and healthcare service providers that want to increase conversion rates and average order values by offering transparent, instant financing to customers facing urgent bills.

Use cases

Auto Repair Shop Conversion Lift

A transmission repair estimate of $3,500 causes customer hesitation at the service counter. Sunbit's 30-second approval splits it into 6 monthly payments of ~$600, eliminating purchase friction. The shop receives full payment upfront while Sunbit handles collections, boosting close rates by 20-30% and improving customer satisfaction.

Dental Practice Patient Retention

A cosmetic dental procedure costs $2,800 but the patient's insurance only covers $1,200. Sunbit instantly finances the remaining $1,600 with transparent terms and no late fees, enabling the practice to capture the patient and improve case acceptance rates without staff collecting payment information.

Eyewear Retailer Credit-Challenged Customer Access

A customer with no or poor credit history wants to purchase premium glasses ($1,200). Sunbit's AI-driven underwriting approves 90% of applicants regardless of traditional credit profile, unlocking a customer segment that would otherwise walk out. The optical shop gets guaranteed payment immediately.

Alternatives

Affirm Best for e-commerce and broader retail; Sunbit is purpose-built for high-value service transactions in auto repair and healthcare with merchant payment guarantees.

Klarna Consumer-first BNPL for online shopping; Sunbit focuses on embedded point-of-sale financing in service industries with faster underwriting and B2B merchant model.

Upstart Broader AI-powered lending across multiple use cases; Sunbit is narrowly specialized in instant POS financing for non-discretionary service purchases.

LendingClub Consumer personal lending platform; Sunbit is point-of-sale specific with merchant integration and guaranteed payment models.

FAQ

What does Sunbit do? +

Sunbit is a point-of-sale financing platform that embeds transparent installment payment options into merchant checkout workflows. Using proprietary AI/ML, it approves 90% of applicants in under 30 seconds with minimal friction, enabling customers to split urgent service bills (auto repair, dental, healthcare) into 3-72 month payments. Merchants receive guaranteed upfront payment while Sunbit assumes credit risk and collections.

How much does Sunbit cost? +

Merchants pay a 3-6% merchant discount rate (MDR) on transaction volume plus Sunbit earns interest on the installment loans. Consumers pay transparent APRs based on credit profile with no origination fees, late fees, or penalty interest rates.

What are alternatives to Sunbit? +

Affirm (broader BNPL across e-commerce), Klarna (consumer-focused BNPL for online shopping), Upstart (AI lending across multiple loan types), and LendingClub (consumer personal loans). Each is less specialized in point-of-sale service financing and lacks Sunbit's merchant payment guarantee model.

Who uses Sunbit? +

Auto repair shops (1-in-4 auto dealership service departments nationally), dental practices, eyewear retailers, and specialty healthcare providers. Typical customers face non-discretionary bills between $500-$10,000 where payment friction reduces conversion.

How does Sunbit compare to Affirm? +

Affirm is a general-purpose BNPL platform primarily focused on e-commerce with consumer-friendly branding; Sunbit is purpose-built for B2B2C service workflows in auto repair and healthcare, with merchant payment guarantees, faster underwriting (30 seconds), and higher average order values ($500-$10,000 range). Sunbit's model addresses non-discretionary purchases while Affirm targets discretionary retail spending.