Perhaps no company understands fintech’s rollercoaster ride over the past few years better than Plaid. Founded in 2013 by Zach Perret and William Hockey, Plaid operates as a kind of plumbing between financial institutions, allowing consumers to seamlessly link accounts across platforms from Robinhood to Chase.
As fintech boomed, so did Plaid, announcing a staggering $5.3 billion merger with Visa in early 2020. But, even before Lina Khan started haunting the dreams of techies, the Justice Department sued to block the acquisition, with both parties abandoning the deal in early 2021. Like many of its peers, Plaid faced a sinking valuation and layoffs, though the company has since rebounded.
