Corporate spend management startup Ramp may soon go from helping businesses save money to potentially modernizing how the U.S. government tracks its $700 billion in annual expenditures. The company is currently being considered for a charge card pilot program run by the General Services Administration (GSA), according to a confirmation shared with Voke.
The GSA oversees the SmartPay program, the federal government’s internal expense management system, which includes over 4.6 million active accounts and processed nearly 90 million transactions totaling $40 billion in fiscal year 2024. While Ramp hasn’t officially secured the deal, it is now part of a standard Request for Information (RFI) process for a pilot contract reportedly worth up to $25 million, as per ProPublica.
Interestingly, the opportunity was sparked by a tweet from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) posted to X (formerly Twitter) on February 18, outlining the scale of the federal credit card ecosystem. A few days later, a former Ramp customer introduced the company to the GSA.
“Since then, we have demonstrated the product and are now part of a standard RFI process,” said Lindsay McKinley, Ramp’s head of communications. “We have no indication of whether we’ll be selected”
Ramp was founded in 2019 and has since gained attention for its smart, AI-powered expense control features that help companies identify and eliminate inefficient spending. Its platform offers detailed policy controls, real-time spend visibility, and automation that flags out-of-policy transactions—features that would theoretically align well with federal compliance requirements.
“Ramp’s technology has prevented billions of dollars in wasted spend across the economy,” said McKinley. “If chosen, we’ll bring those same results to the American taxpayer”
Ramp’s interest in government work didn’t come out of nowhere. Back in January, Ramp co-founder and CEO Eric Glyman, along with investor Kyle Harrison of Contrary, published a blog post titled “The Efficiency Formula.” In it, they proposed ways the government could cut back on wasteful spending—a message that seemed to align with the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, formally launched days later.
Ramp’s backers include high-profile names like Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, Keith Rabois (Khosla Ventures), Thrive Capital (founded by Joshua Kushner), 8VC’s Joe Lonsdale, and Jeb Bush, pointing to strong ties with figures in both the tech and political arenas. Those affiliations have stirred speculation about whether the startup’s proximity to power has helped open doors.
Despite those connections, Ramp maintains that it is following standard procurement channels.
“Ramp is competing in a standard procurement process for a SmartPay pilot program based on the strength of our solution,” McKinley emphasized”
Earlier this year, Ramp doubled its valuation to $13 billion after a $150 million secondary share sale. The startup has raised more than $1 billion in equity and an additional $700 million in committed debt funding since its launch.
Whether or not Ramp lands the GSA contract, it’s clear the startup sees an opening to expand beyond the private sector and reshape government spending from the inside out—starting with a single tweet and the possibility of federal-scale efficiency.
