附近上门

Digital mortgage startup this morning it closed a $160 million Series C. The new capital values the company at “north of $600 million,” it said.

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The funding brings the New York company鈥檚 total raised to $254 million, it said in a . The round appears to have been raised in tranches, according to the company鈥檚 附近上门 profile.

, China-based , , Citi, AGNC, (HOOPP) and joined existing shareholders , , and in the round.

Growth

Better.com says it has 鈥済rown鈥� at least three times in the last year, and by a multiple of ten over the last three years. The company currently funds $375 million in mortgages a month.

In the second quarter alone, Better.com says it funded $1 billion worth of loans, which was more than it executed in all of 2016 and 2017 combined. The new result puts the company on track to lend over $4 billion in 2019 to over 20,000 customers, it said.

Since its product launched in 2016, Better.com says it has thus far funded more than $4 billion in loans.

In a phone interview this morning, founder 聽told me that the company’s current revenue run rate is $120 million, which is four times more than the $30 million it was this time last year.

Garg came up with the idea for Better.com after losing out on a bid to buy a house to an all-cash buyer. He blamed the loss on 鈥渁 slow and antiquated traditional mortgage process.鈥�

“The mortgage process was a disaster. It took 60 days to close with lots of branch visits and faxing stuff at Kinko’s,” he told 附近上门 News. “The entire industry existed like the internet was never invented.”

So Garg used the money that would have been the down payment to start Better.com, a company that claims to have 鈥渄igitized the entire mortgage process to eliminate commissions, fees, unnecessary steps, and time-wasting branch appointments.鈥�

From the company鈥檚 website, homebuyers (or those refinancing) can upload and digitally sign documents to receive 鈥渓oan estimates in seconds and a pre-approval within minutes.鈥� The company claims it is able to 鈥渃lose鈥� a typical mortgage 50 percent faster than the industry average (21 days vs. an industry average of 42 days).

It operates a commission-free business model that it says saves borrowers money upfront and hundreds a year in interest payments.

Capital Use

Better.com initially closed the series C in January at about $70 million but kept the round open due to investor demand, according to Garg.

Looking ahead, he said the company will use its new capital to accelerate product development, expand its strategic partnerships, and expand its headcount. In the last year, Better.com says it hired 550 people and now has over 700 employees, according to Varg. The company said it plans to hire another 400 people in sales and technology by year鈥檚 end, and have “between 2,000 and 3,000 employees by the end of next year.” It also opened additional offices in Irvine and Oakland, Calif., in 2018 and in Charlotte, N.C., this month, and recently聽moved its headquarters to 7 World Trade Center.

Indeed, there has long been a belief in tech that the is ripe for disruption. And investors are bullish on the space, and company.

For example, in June mortgage tech startup Blend raised $130 million that, according to , put the company 鈥渨ithin striking distance of 鈥榰nicorn鈥� status.鈥� and led the firm鈥檚 , which also included participation from extant backers , , , and .

And, , which powers the digital mortgage process for lenders like Guild Mortgage and will soon serve as the backbone of JPMorgan Chase鈥檚 digital mortgage process, 聽in January 2018.

, managing director at Amex Ventures, said Better.com is 鈥渕aking the entire homebuying experience faster and more affordable.鈥�

Activant Capital founder and Better.com board member said the startup 鈥渋s effectively overhauling the way millions of Americans make the most meaningful investment of their lives.鈥�