Intuit is buying free credit score startup Credit Karma for $7 billion

Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, is reportedly buying unicorn startup Credit Karma in a deal valued at around $7 billion in cash and stock. The acquisition would push the tax preparation giant further into consumer finance. Under the agreement, Credit Karma would operate as a standalone business.

Credit Karma is a profitable startup best known for providing consumers free access to credit scores, but its features also include free tax preparation, monitoring of unclaimed property databases and a tool to identify and dispute credit report errors. The unicorn startup has raised a total of $368 million in known equity financing. Just two years ago, Credit Karma was valued at roughly $4 billion in a private share sale.

Founded in 2007 by Kenneth Lin, Ryan Graciano and Nichole Mustard, the San Francisco, California-based Credit Karma is a personal finance company that’s focused on helping everyone make financial progress. Kenneth Lin, who previously founded Multilytics Marketing and worked with E-Loan and Upromise, launched Credit Karma in 2007, with the website going live in February 2008. Early investors include Chris Larson, CEO of Prosper, and Mark Lefanowicz, former president of E-Loan. Credit Karma has over 100 million members.

The startup also made 6 acquisitions. In 2015, Credit Karma acquired mobile notifications app developer Snowball for an undisclosed amount. In 2016, the startup also acquired AFJC Corporation, the owner of OnePriceTaxes.com, and money reclamation service startup Claimdog.

Credit Karma made two acquisitions in 2018. On March 14, 2018, Credit Karma acquired personal finance company Penny for an undisclosed amount. It also acquired mortgage platform Approved for an undisclosed amount. On May 1st, 2019, Credit Karma acquired the United Kingdom credit report service Noddle for an undisclosed amount.