Hip-hop mogul Jay-Z invests in Altro, a Black-led no-cost app helping to build credit to build credit through existing spending habits

Grammy Award-winning artist and entrepreneur Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter has invested in Altro, a Black-led, free app helping users build credit through existing spending habits.

TechCrunch reports Altro was founded by friends Michael Broughton and Ayush Jain, who bonded over the belief that credit access should be free. The two men are now helping people build their credit through recurring payments, including subscriptions to apps like Netflix, Spotify, and other streaming services.

The two men have built a platform that finds a person’s recurring transactions and connects them to a tradeline, a line of data that goes directly into a bureau’s system that reports to all three credit bureaus.

Citi Ventures, Black Capital Fund, Concrete Rose Fund, Jay-Z’s Marcy Ventures, and individual investors helped Altro raise $18 million in a Series A funding round. The funding will be used to continue growing Altro’s credit and financial literacy program and expand its team.