Financial technology startup Hello Alice said today it has closed on an undisclosed amount of funding that brings its valuation to $130 million.

The latest round was led by QED Investors, as well as Mastercard, and saw participation from Backstage Capital, Guy Fieri, Golden Seeds, Harbert Growth Partners Fund, How Women Invest I, LP, Lovell Limited Partnership, Tyler “Ninja” and Jessica Blevins, and Tamera Mowry and Adam Housley.

Hello Alice, officially known as Circular Board Inc., is a fintech startup that provides startups, small business owners and other entrepreneurs with access to lines of credit, loans, grants and business planning services, with a unique focus on equitable access.

In addition, its software-as-a-service platform also delivers analytics tools to help startups assess their finances. It allows entrepreneurs to see how banks, creditors, investors and others view the health of their business, and provides access to artificial intelligence-powered tools and frameworks that can help to optimize their finances so they’re more attractive to financiers.

The startup began life focused exclusively on female entrepreneurs but has since expanded to support any small and medium-sized business. It claims to have grown its community to more than 1.5 million SMB owners, making it one of the largest networks of its kind in the U.S.

Its suite of financial products and services include the Hello Alice Small Business Mastercard, the Business Health Score, the Equitable Access Program, the Equitable Access Fund and Elevate the American Dream, a new fund for U.S. SMBs that has already awarded grants totaling more than $40 million this year alone.

Hello Alice co-founders Elizabeth Gore (pictured, right) and Carolyn Rodz (left) said the company has hit 1.5 million users. “There are more entrepreneurs launching this year than in the history of our country, and we will continue to ensure they get the capital needed to grow,” they added.

The startup said the funds from today’s round will be spent on improving its AI-powered tools that help entrepreneurs to secure funding more easily, as part of its mission to lower barriers to access to funding. Among the improvements planned are more relevant recommendations for capital and connections, and the introduction of new frameworks that share best business practices that SMBs can follow to improve their businesses’ financial health.

QED Investors co-founder Frank Rotman said his team is focused on finding and investing in companies that are obsessed with reducing friction and providing superior financial services to businesses. “Hello Alice has proven time and time again that they are on the leading edge of providing equitable access to capital and banking services to the small business ecosystem,” he said.

Photo: SiliconANGLE