Dots, a San Francisco-based global payouts platform for marketplaces and service-based businesses, announced it has secured $8.9 million in Series A funding led by DCM, with participation from Y Combinator. The company, which is profitable, has now raised more than $14.6 million to date and processes over $150 million in payouts each month, representing 400% year-over-year revenue growth.
Dots has delivered more than $1 billion to over one million gig workers, creators, and contractors worldwide. The company focuses on modernizing the payout layer of payments infrastructure, an area it says has lagged behind innovation in payment acceptance.
Through a single API, Dots unifies multiple payment methods including bank transfers, PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, and stablecoins, enabling businesses to handle onboarding, compliance, and cross-border disbursements in one system. The platform is designed to ensure that payees receive funds quickly, regardless of location or preferred payment type, helping marketplaces and platforms improve contractor and creator retention.
The new capital will be used to expand Dots’ product offerings, including future financial features such as credit card processing, accounts payable, and accounts receivable. The company also plans to invest in international expansion and hire additional engineering talent.
Alongside the funding announcement, Dots introduced two new enhancements to its platform. The first is a fully self-service model that allows customers to integrate Dots into their existing systems and customize payouts without outside assistance, enabling businesses to begin sending payments within hours regardless of payee volume or payment preferences.
The second is Dots Control, an anti-fraud feature designed to help companies identify and prevent suspicious payouts. The tool enables businesses to create custom fraud detection rules, such as flagging payees who claim to be U.S.-based but log in via an international VPN.
DCM cited both the expanding global payouts market and Dots’ dual focus on developer and payee experience as key drivers behind the investment. The global payouts market is projected to triple by 2033, while gig economy payments already exceed $582 billion.
KEY QUOTES
“Everyone talks about the future of payments, but most of that innovation has focused on companies receiving payment, not paying others. The payout layer is broken, with companies and marketplaces having to reinvent the wheel to handle compliance, onboarding and cross-border disbursements. As a result, payments are slow. Dots solves this problem by unifying bank transfers, PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, and stablecoins under a single API, ensuring payees receive funds quickly, regardless of where they are based or their preferred payment type. This translates into greater loyalty among contractors and creators.”
Sahil Hasan, Co-Founder And CEO, Dots
“Beyond the large and growing total addressable market – the global payouts market is projected to triple by 2033 and the gig economy payments market is already in excess of $582 billion – what makes Dots compelling is its focus on both the developer and payee experience. When workers and creators actually want to get paid through your platform, the result is an engine that helps to not only address compliance and payments, but also retain the best talent.”
Ibrahim AlSuwaidi, Partner, DCM
