Fintech startup Blend raises $130M on possible unicorn valuation
Blend Labs Inc., a San Francisco-based financial technology lending platform provider, today said it has raised $130 million in a new late-stage round of funding to hire more people, invest in new technologies and broaden its suite of consumer lending products.
The Series E round was led by Temasek and General Atlantic. Previous investors 8VC, Founders Fund, Greylock Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners also participated.
The valuation on the new round was not disclosed, but Forbes reported that the valuation was about double the company’s Series D round, which was $500 million. That potentially makes Blend the latest tech unicorn, as billion-dollar valuation startups are called.
Founded in 2012, Blend claims to be “transforming the consumer lending ecosystem” with a white-label product that delivers speed and efficiency to lenders. In more basic terms, Blend’s software-as-a-service platform digitizes paper processes for financial services providers for mortgages, general loans and underwriting. The company claims among its customers Wells Fargo & Co. and US Bancorp.
Marc Greenberg, Blend’s head of finance, told Crunchbase news that the company’s SaaS platform “routinely processes nearly $2 billion in loans every day in partnership with more than 150 lender customers.”
Looking forward into new potential markets, the company recently announced product expansions into deposit account opening, home equity and homeowners insurance, giving it a broader potential market than white-label facilitation of loans and directly related products.
“Together with our partners, we’ve made significant strides in transforming lending experiences for consumers and institutions across the country,” Nima Ghamsari, Blend’s founder and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
Including the new funding, Blend has raised $290 million to date.
Image: Blend
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