On Me Reimagines Gift Cards With Interest-Based Digital Gifting
The plastic gift card you buy at the store is being replaced by a personal, interest-driven experience that feels made for the recipient.
On Me, a startup founded by former Google employees, is redefining the $2.3 trillion gift card market with a mobile-first platform that sells digital gifts categorized by interests instead of retailers. The company just closed a $6 million seed round led by NFX, with participation from Lerer Hippeau and Focal, to fuel category expansion and growth.
Here’s why this matters.
On Me turns gifting into a personal choice. If your friend loves tennis, you can send a card they can redeem for gear and outfits across popular brands—Wilson, On, Prince, and more—rather than being locked to a single store. The platform offers 72 activity-based categories, including running, reading, camping, gardening, gaming, concerts, and upcoming additions like horseback riding lessons, wine tastings, and theme park trips.
It’s built for how we gift today. You can attach video messages, photos, and GIFs, turning a simple card into a memorable, personalized moment. On Me is accessible via its website and iOS and Android apps, and integrates with Apple Pay and Google Wallet for seamless redemption.
This approach solves a major pain point: waste. CEO and co-founder Darragh Meaney highlights the environmental toll of traditional plastic gift cards. According to the International Card Manufacturers Association (ICMA), about 30 billion plastic cards are produced globally each year, and over 70% are discarded within six months, generating an estimated 53 million tons of plastic waste. On Me’s digital-first model eliminates that physical waste while aligning with modern consumer habits.
The market is hungry for innovation. With the global gift card market forecast to hit $2.3 trillion by 2030, On Me’s thesis—interest-led, mobile-first, and personal—is well-timed. The company reports that since launch, it has facilitated over $2.5 million in gifts for more than 26,000 users, growing 50% month over month. It previously raised $1.7 million in a pre-seed round, and this new $6 million seed will help expand categories and deepen its tech platform.
For gift givers and recipients, the benefits are clear:
– Freedom and relevance: Choose experiences and products mapped to passions, not store aisles.
– Personalization: Add video, photos, and GIFs to make each gift feel unique.
– Convenience: Mobile-native flow with wallet integrations reduces friction.
– Sustainability: Eliminates the plastic waste tied to physical cards.
On Me isn’t just digitizing the gift card; it’s shifting gifting from generic tokens to flexible, meaningful choices. As the startup scales with fresh capital and grows its category roster, it pairs personalization with purpose—turning everyday gifting into a less wasteful, more delightful experience for how we live and connect today.
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