Opal announces $1.5 million USD to build “the operating system for ad agencies”

Vancouver-based Opal has announced $1.5 million USD in pre-seed funding to develop its expense management technology for advertising agencies.

The FinTech startup is developing an all-in-one software-as-a-service platform called Opal Spend that is designed to replace the fragmented, horizontal tools typically used by ad agencies and automate their back-office operations. 

“We built Opal to be a modern financial backbone for agencies.”

Alex Steele, Opal

Opal founder and CEO Alex Steele launched the company last year to address billing headaches at his media buying agency, Easy Agency. During Steele’s years leading Easy Agency, the CEO juggled lots of back-office tools that didn’t integrate or communicate, which he said led to lots of time spent copying the same data into different products. 

This experience spurred him to launch Opal, which helps ad agencies manage ad spending, accounting, invoicing, and contract management in one place through its Opal Spend software and newly introduced Opal Spend card.

“We built Opal to be a modern financial backbone for agencies—one that reduces friction from contract creation all the way through invoicing and payment,” Steele said.

Opal’s pre-seed round, which closed during the fourth quarter of 2024, was led by Seattle’s Founders Co-op with support from Exit North Ventures, a Toronto FinTech fund launched last year by Canadian Fintech newsletter’s Tal Schwartz and his father, Canadian Lenders Association founder Gary Schwartz. 

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The company also counts Ian Crosby, co-founder and former CEO of Vancouver FinTech startups Bench and Teal—which were both recently acquired—among its investors.

“I’ve seen firsthand how Alex’s determination and technical talent have shaped Opal into a game-changing financial platform,” Crosby said in a statement. “It’s not just streamlining day-to-day finances—it’s redefining how agencies and brands manage ad spending, and I’m excited to support Opal’s growth.”

Since its launch, Opal has attracted a team of former X (previously Twitter) engineers. Opal plans to use this funding to bring Opal Spend to market, expand its capabilities, deepen its platform integrations, and hire across its engineering, product, and customer success teams.

Opal’s long-term vision is to be “the premier financial partner for media and creative agencies.”

Feature image courtesy Opal.