Propel Venture Partners is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm focused on financial technology. It emerged as an independent fund in 2016, spinning out of BBVA's corporate venture arm, BBVA Ventures, which the Spanish banking group had operated since 2012. BBVA anchored Propel's debut fund with a $250 million commitment, giving the team independence to back fintech startups across the United States and Europe without the constraints of a corporate parent. The split was a notable experiment: a major bank betting that its venture team could operate more effectively as a standalone GP.
The firm targets early- and growth-stage companies across payments, lending, wealth management, insurance technology, and blockchain-based financial infrastructure. Geographic focus sits primarily in the United States, with secondary activity in the United Kingdom and broader Europe. Propel positions itself as a strategic backer, drawing on BBVA's global banking network to help portfolio companies reach institutional distribution channels – a selling point that resonated with founders building in regulated financial services.
Notable investments
- Coinbase – Invested during the BBVA Ventures era, before Coinbase became the dominant US crypto exchange. One of the most valuable exits in the firm's history following Coinbase's 2021 Nasdaq direct listing.
- Personal Capital – Digital wealth management platform, later acquired by Empower Retirement in 2020 for approximately $1 billion.
- Prosper – One of the early US peer-to-peer lending marketplaces. An early bet on consumer credit disruption.
- Taulia – Working capital management and supply chain finance platform. Later acquired by SAP.
- Behalf – B2B payments and credit for small businesses.
- Borro – Asset-backed lending for luxury goods, focused on the UK and US markets.
The Coinbase investment stands out as the firm's most visible win. BBVA Ventures backed Coinbase in the 2013–2014 period, when it was a seed-stage startup. The position generated substantial returns and established the fund's credibility in crypto-adjacent infrastructure long before institutional interest in digital assets became mainstream.
Team
Jay Reinemann is the Managing Partner and a co-founder of Propel. He led BBVA Ventures from its inception and steered the spin-out into an independent fund. His background spans investment banking and technology investing, with a specific focus on financial services infrastructure. Ryan Gilbert joined as a Partner, bringing experience from earlier venture and operator roles in payments and consumer finance. Public information on additional team members beyond the founding partnership is limited.
Recent activity
Propel has maintained a lower public profile compared to larger multi-stage fintech funds. No major new fund announcements have been confirmed in recent public filings or press coverage through early 2026. The firm's pace of new investments appears to have slowed relative to its peak activity in the 2016–2020 period, which is consistent with the broader correction in fintech valuations following 2021 highs. Whether a second institutional fund has closed independently of BBVA's continued involvement is not confirmed in public sources.
The firm's early conviction on crypto infrastructure – demonstrated by the Coinbase bet over a decade ago – gives it credibility in the space. However, Propel is not positioned as a crypto-native fund. Its broader mandate covers regulated financial services technology, with blockchain investments forming one segment of a wider fintech portfolio. Founders in payments, lending automation, and digital asset compliance infrastructure remain the most natural fit for the firm's thesis and distribution network.