Pathfinder, a Phoenix-based fintech startup helping families manage education-related spending, has raised $12 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Portage Ventures, with participation from Reach Capital, Gradient, and Stand Together Ventures Lab. The latest investment brings the company’s total funding to $16 million.

Founded by CEO Amaan Ahmad and co-founder Sidharth Jain, Pathfinder provides financial technology for families using Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), 529 plans, and other education funding programs.

The firm’s platform is a combination of a payment card and a companion app that assists parents in paying for qualifying educational expenses. The firm’s AI-powered platform provides parents with the needed advice on the eligible purchases to make and organizes receipts to prepare the necessary documents for reimbursement.

Families who use state education funds usually need to follow complicated spending guidelines and fill out paperwork to get money back. Pathfinder aims at solving this issue by uniting payments and compliance services in one platform.

The development of the firm perfectly coincides with the growth of school-choice programs across the USA. At the moment, Pathfinder has over 7000 Arizona accounts and plans to expand to six other states in 2027.

Pathfinder will use the new funding to accelerate product development, improve its platform, and expand beyond Arizona. The company is focused on building financial infrastructure for families managing education funds, rather than developing classroom software.