Better.com, a NYC-based homeownership platform, closed a $160m Series C funding.
The round, which brought total funding to $254m to date, was led by Activant Capital, Ping An Global Voyager Fund, Ally Financial, Citi, AGNC, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) and American Express Ventures, which joined existing shareholders Goldman Sachs, Pine Brook, and Kleiner Perkins. In conjunction with the funding, Activant Capital founder Steve Sarracino, former CFPB Director Raj Date and Pine Brook Managing Partner and Co-Founder William Spiegel joined its Board of Directors.
The company intends to use the funds to accelerate its investment in product development, grow its strategic partnerships, expand the team and scale the platform.
Created in 2016 by Vishal Garg, Better.com leverages technology and non-commissioned loan consultants to digitize the entire mortgage process to eliminate commissions, fees, unnecessary steps, and time-wasting branch appointments.
Customers are able to upload and eSign documents, get loan estimates in seconds and a pre-approval within minutes. The startup’s commission-free business model also allows borrowers to save money in up-front costs and interest payments.
Since inception in 2016, Better.com has funded more than $4B in loans. In the last year, the company added 550 new hires and moved its headquarters to 7 World Trade Center to accommodate its growth. It also opened additional offices in Irvine and Oakland, CA in 2018 and in Charlotte, NC just this month.
The company plans to hire an additional 400 people in sales and technology by the end of 2019.
FinSMEs
19/08/2019