US-based online credit technology startup Upgrade revealed a total of $60m in series A equity and convertible notes from investors including financial services providers Noah Holdings and CreditEase on Thursday.
Other investors that contributed to the financing included Apoletto, FirstMark Capital, Ribbit Capital, Sands Capital Ventures, Union Square Ventures, Uprising, Vy Capital and Silicon Valley Bank.
The capital was secured last month but only recently disclosed. Upgrade has not announced the ratio of equity to debt.
Founded in August 2016, Upgrade has created a consumer credit service that offers both a marketplace lending platform and tools to help users monitor their credit. The platform relies on blockchain technology to maintain a ledger.
Upgrade’s loans are issued by financial services firm WebBank, with the startup retaining a representative portion on its balance sheets and offering whole loans for sale to institutional investors.
Investment bank Jefferies is currently advising Upgrade on a capital markets strategy and is expected to purchase loans in future to help set up the company’s securitisation program.