In banking, most players talk about innovation like it’s a seasonal trend. Grasshopper Bank treats it like oxygen. Founded in 2016 by Judith Erwin, the bank hit the ground in 2019 serving the business and innovation economy, not with marble lobbies and velvet ropes, but with a digital platform designed to actually work for small businesses, startups, VCs, and fintechs. When Mike Butler stepped in as President and CEO in 2021, after a 13-year run transforming Radius Bank into one of the most tech-forward institutions in the country, the mandate was simple: build a bank that moves only forward, just like the insect it’s named for.
Fast forward to August 2025, and Grasshopper just closed a $46.6 million funding round led by Patriot Financial Partners LP with Glendon Capital Management in the mix. This isn’t just a pile of cash to sit on; it’s rocket fuel for expansion, turbocharged by their merger with Auto Club Trust, FSB back in April. That move instantly plugged Grasshopper into the lives of over 13 million AAA members across 14 states, consumer banking at scale without losing the bank’s business-first DNA.
The numbers don’t just impress; they flex. By June 30, 2025, total assets hit $1.33 billion, up 53 percent from the end of 2024. Deposits? $2.37 billion, an 81 percent leap. Loans topped $961.8 million, up 49 percent. In 2024 alone, they welcomed over 6,000 new clients, hit $32.1 million in revenue, and proved that digital banking can be both high-growth and high-touch.
This doesn’t happen by accident. Butler rebuilt Grasshopper’s tech stack from the ground up, ditching the build it all yourself mindset for strategic partnerships that deliver real firepower. Their platform runs on FIS IBS with digital muscle from Narmi, API banking via Treasury Prime, compliance and fraud prevention from Alloy and Hummingbird, and automated invoicing from Autobooks. It’s the kind of infrastructure that lets a small business owner open an account in under five minutes, issue a virtual debit card before the coffee’s poured, and send an invoice that practically pays itself.
Credit also goes to a leadership crew stacked with heavy hitters: CFO Mike Lenahan, Chief Digital Officer Chris Tremont, CTO Pete Chapman, and Chief Risk Officer Grant Skeens. Together, they’ve taken Only Forward from a slogan to a market position that’s as hard to catch as a grasshopper in tall grass. With fresh capital, a broadened market, and tech built for scale, this bank isn’t hopping, it’s vaulting. The rest of the industry can try to keep pace, but it’s already in the rearview.
