Draft:Upside

• Comment: In accordance with the Wikimedia Foundation's Terms of Use, I disclose that I have been paid by my employer for my contributions to this article. Starhope2026 (talk) 17:27, 11 June 2026 (UTC)

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Upside (formerly GetUpside) is a U.S.-based financial technology company headquartered in Washington, D.C. that operates a cash back rewards platform for in-person retail purchases at gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurants. The platform connects consumers, who use the app to earn cash back on everyday purchases, with brick-and-mortar businesses, who pay to drive incremental customer traffic to their stores. Upside is available as a free mobile application on iOS and Android and does not require a subscription.

History

GetUpside was founded in 2016 in Washington, D.C. by Alex Kinnier and Wayne Lin, along with three additional co-founders. Kinnier serves as the company's CEO.

Kinnier and Lin first met while working at Google, where Kinnier was influenced by Google's chief economist Hal Varian, who argued that brick-and-mortar retail suffered from significant inefficiencies compared to e-commerce due to the latter's ability to personalize offers using consumer data. The pair subsequently worked together at Opower, a SaaS company that used data to help utility companies engage with customers, before launching GetUpside.

When the platform launched, it focused primarily on gas stations before expanding into restaurant and grocery categories. In April 2020, GetUpside acquired A-Frame Ventures, a technology company, amid a broader hiring expansion.

In April 2022, the company rebranded as Upside and announced it had raised $165 million in new financing in its Series D funding round — $65 million in equity from General Catalyst, with participation from existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners and Builders VC, and $100 million in debt financing — bringing its valuation to approximately $1.5 billion.

Products and Services

Upside allows users to earn cash back on purchases made at participating businesses. Users claim offers within the app before making a purchase; cash back is then credited after the transaction is verified. Rewards are paid in U.S. dollars, not points or credits, and can be redeemed via bank transfer or gift cards.

Retailers pay Upside a performance-based fee for each completed transaction the platform drives to their business. A portion of that fee is passed on to the consumer as cash back. Offers are personalized to individual users and are structured to remain within a retailer's gross profit margin, ensuring partner businesses maintain profitability on each Upside-driven transaction.

Upside also operates a Partner Platform — a set of application programming interfaces (APIs) that enables third-party applications to surface Upside's cash back offers directly within their own interfaces, extending the platform's reach beyond the Upside app itself.

Business Model

Upside is a two-sided marketplace that connects consumers and brick-and-mortar retailers. The company's revenue model is a performance-based, "profit-sharing" model: retailers pay only for completed transactions that Upside can demonstrate were driven by its platform, rather than paying upfront advertising costs tied to impressions or clicks.

Upside provides retailers with attribution data showing which offers and locations drove customer visits, giving businesses measurable insight into their return on investment.

Partnerships

GetUpside announced formal partnerships with a number of major fuel brands prior to its 2022 rebrand, including BP, Circle K, Phillips 66, Valero, and Motiva. The platform is available at over 23,000 gas stations across the United States. Upside also established partnerships with GasBuddy and Checkout 51, integrating its offers into those apps through its Partner Platform.

Funding

Upside has raised approximately $291 million in total funding across multiple rounds, attaining unicorn status in 2022 when its Series D closed at a valuation of approximately $1.5 billion. The Series D comprised $65 million in equity financing, more than doubling the $62.6 million the company had raised across its Series A through Series C rounds, alongside $100 million in debt financing from General Catalyst. Institutional investors include General Catalyst, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Builders VC. Individual angel investors include Hal Varian, the economist whose theories on retail personalization influenced the platform's founding concept.

Reception

The Financial Times cited Upside's consumer spending data in April 2026 when it reported on the impact of rising gas prices on American drivers, noting that Upside tracks transactions at more than 23,000 gas stations nationwide. The article also cited Upside data showing a 4.3 percent decline in average gas sales per station in the northeastern United States between February and March 2026.

In a 2025 Bankrate report, principal analyst Ted Rossman shared a mixed assessment of the platform, noting that available deals varied significantly by region and that gas prices listed in the app did not always reflect actual prices at the station. Rossman concluded that Upside "can help you save quite a bit here and there" but that results ultimately depended heavily on a user's location.

Upside was included in U.S. News & World Report's roundup of recommended gas-saving apps, which highlighted that Upside's cash back rewards also extend to groceries and restaurants. Tom's Guide also featured Upside as one of four recommended tools for finding cheaper gas in March 2026, describing it as the option best suited for consumers looking for rewards beyond simple price comparison.

Recognition

GetUpside received the 2019 Tech In Motion Award for Best Startup and was named to D.C. Inno's 2020 "On Fire" list. The company was also recognized as a Washington Post Top Workplace in 2020. CEO Alex Kinnier received the Washington Post's 2020 Leadership Award.