Affirm, a financial technology company that provides installment loans to consumers at the point of sale has raised a $300 million Series F round of funding led by Thrive Capital (founded by Joshua Kushner). New investors Fidelity Management and Research Company, Baillie Gifford and Wellington Management. And Sound Ventures — the venture capital firm launched by Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary — also participated in this round.
This funding round reportedly gave Affirm a $2.9 billion post-money valuation according to Axios. And the valuation went up from $1.8 billion in 2017 based on the $200 million Series E round.
The returning investors in this round include Founders Fund, GIC, Spark Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Moore Asset Backed Fund, LP, and Ribbit Capital. Including this round, Affirm has raised more than $800 million in equity funding.
With this funding round, Affirm will continue hiring top talent and further scaling the company. This announcement comes on the heels of Affirm seeing a period of rapid growth adn expansion — which saw a loan volume of more than $2 billion in 2018. The company also opened a flagship office in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Launched in 2012, Affirm offers consumer loans during checkout on e-commerce websites. The loans can be paid over time and it can be used to immediately pay merchants for customer purchases — which is a model similar to PayPal Credit. Affirm CEO and co-founder Max Levchin knows a thing or two about financial technology companies as he was the co-founder of PayPal.
“The past year has been an incredible period for Affirm and this investment validates our stage as a mature, established and respected leader in an extremely competitive industry,” said Levchin in a statement. “I’m especially proud that we’ve built a successful financial services business that does as much good for consumers as it does for retailers and investors.”
Affirm now has millions of customers in the U.S. and a net promoter score of 83+. And consumers can now use Affirm to pay for purchases of any amount up to $15,000 at over 2,000 merchants — many of which offer interest-free financing options with no late or hidden fees. Walmart, Warby Parker, Verizon Visible, David Yurman, and Room and Board have added Affirm in recent months.
“We continue to be impressed by Affirm’s ability to build innovative products that are impactful to both retailers and consumers,” added Kushner.
The company also announced it added several new leaders on its executive team and board of directors Former Groupon International COO Silvija Martincevic was named as Chief Commercial Officer of Affirm and she will oversee revenue efforts and several major business functions including marketing and communications. Affirm also hired former PayPal VP of Global Brand & Integrated Marketing Greg Fisher as Chief Marketing Officer. And former OpenTable CEO Christa Quarles has joined the company as an independent member of the board.
