Ryan Breslow is once again the CEO of Bolt, the fintech company told TechCrunch on Wednesday.
Bolt shared a recent communication with investors, with Breslow writing, “a challenging few years later.”
Justin Grooms, who has been interim CEO since March last year, is currently president of Bolt. Grooms, the company’s former sales director, took over as CEO after it was reported that Maju Kuruvilla had been removed by the Bolt board of directors.
Bolt’s outspoken founder, Breslow resigned as CEO in early 2022. Over the years he misunderstood investors, inflated metrics, violated security laws, and finally claimed he ran the company. Breslow also got caught up in a legal battle with investor Activint Capital, receiving a $30 million loan. Last September, Bolt shared that he had reached a settlement with Activint Capital. The settlement stipulates that Bolt will buy back Bolt shares of Activity Stocks, and then the active person is no longer interested in the company.
In communication with investors, as seen on TechCrunch, Breslow thanked the company’s supporters for their “support and encouragement” and expressed gratitude to their employees.
Last year, Bolt reportedly was trying to raise $200 million in stock and a rare $250 million in “marketing credits” at a $14 billion valuation. As part of the funding round, Breslow will be reinjected as CEO. By September, the deal had clearly stagnated. Today, Bolt told TechCrunch he could not comment on the funding.
Bolt’s annual occupancy rate is $28 million, and the company had gross profits of $7 million as of the end of March 2024, said journalist Eric Newcomer also saw a copy of the term sheet leaked last August. The $14 billion valuation is a huge number compared to these numbers, exceeding the $11 billion valuation achieved in January 2022.
Bolt, which provides software to retailers to speed up checkouts, raised about $1 billion in total venture support funds, once valued at $11 billion. Investors include funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Schonfeld, Invus Opportunities, CreditEase, HIG Growth, Moore Strategic Ventures and others.
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