US-based online financial services platform LendUp has raised $150m in debt and equity yesterday from a consortium including GV, a corporate venturing subsidiary of conglomerate Alphabet.
GV, formerly known as Google Ventures, was joined by Susa Ventures and Data Collective, which co-led the round, QED Investors, Kapor Capital, Yuri Milner, SV Angel, Eagle Cliff, Bronze Investments and Victory Park Capital, the last of which also provided an undisclosed amount of debt financing.
LendUp provides loans through a platform that enables reliable borrowers to move up the ‘LendUp Ladder’ each time they successfully repay a loan, meaning they can access greater amounts of money at lower rates of interest. It will put the series B funding towards expanding its team and the platform.
Hector Selberis, head of talent for LendUp, said: “We currently have over 130 employees, up from just 40 at the end of 2014, and it is entirely possible we will double our staff by the end of 2016.
“This raise allows us to continue our rapid growth by hiring even smarter, mission-aligned people who want to make a positive impact on the world while solving complex finance and software problems.”
The round boosted LendUp’s overall financing to more than $210m since it was founded in 2012, and follows a $14m series A round that included GV, QED, Data Collective and angel investor Matt Ocko in 2013, as well as a $50m credit facility supplied by Victory Park the following year.
GV initially invested in LendUp when it joined Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), Andreessen Horowitz, Thomvest Ventures, Kapor Capital, Bronze Investments, Founders CoOp, Data Collective and Startfund for a 2012 seed round.