Astra

In 2016, Astra's founders Gil Akos and Sam Morgan recognized that while the first two waves of fintech had transformed financial products and unbundled banking, they had also made managing money exponentially more complex. Every new account added exponentially more potential connections, creating overhead and friction. They realized the solution wasn't better apps - it was a platform that could programmatically route cash between any source and any destination, automatically. Today, Astra provides the all-in-one platform for lightning-fast payments, building mission-critical infrastructure that processes billions in annual transaction volume with 99.9%+ uptime. From instant disbursements and account funding to accelerated ACH transfers, Astra's API enables businesses to embed payment capabilities directly into their products. The company has evolved from an automation platform for consumers into the default developer platform for businesses moving money at scale, partnering with Visa, Cross River Bank, and leading fintechs to transform how the financial system operates - one transfer at a time.