- Blend — a leader in digital lending solutions — announced it has raised $75 million in Series F funding led by Canapi Ventures
Blend — a leader in digital lending solutions — announced it has raised $75 million in Series F funding led by Canapi Ventures. This funding brings Blend’s valuation to nearly $1.7 billion and it will be used to accelerate the development of its unified digital platform for mortgages, consumer loans, and deposit accounts. Existing investors Temasek, General Atlantic, 8VC, Greylock, and Emergence also joined the round.
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the lending industry, generating a surge in mortgage refinance applications in response to record-low interest rates, shifting nearly all consumer engagement to digital channels, and driving a sudden wave of demand for Paycheck Protection Program small business loans.
Even with the new remote work paradigm created by the pandemic, Blend helps financial institutions respond with greater agility to changing market dynamics with modern lending experiences for consumers and loan teams. And the company’s Digital Lending Platform streamlines the journey from application to close for any banking product, helping lenders acquire more customers, increase productivity, and deepen customer relationships.
Blend has been continuing to build on its substantial momentum in 2020 with numerous new products, including its digital closing solution for mortgages and home equity loans and new reporting tools for lenders. And the company also announced its expansion into consumer banking and a new offering for auto loans in late 2019.
Since the beginning of the year, Blend has hired and onboarded over 130 new employees and helped its growing base of more than 250 lender customers process over $3.5 billion in consumer loans each day, which totaled over $771 billion in loan volume this year to date.
KEY QUOTES:
“Financial institutions have traditionally taken time to modernize legacy systems, but digital is now table stakes. Shelter in place and social distancing mandates have forced banks and other lenders to accelerate digital transformation plans from years to months. Blend is at the forefront of this innovation, offering flexible digital solutions to help lenders like Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, Truist, M&T Bank, and other key regional banking institutions meet their accelerated timelines and their customers’ changing needs.”
— Jeffrey Reitman, a partner at Canapi Ventures
“Our customers are our top priority. This additional capital allows us to accelerate our broader strategy to create long-term value by serving our customers, expanding our offerings, and building out the Blend ecosystem. Our goal is to deliver software that gives lenders the flexibility to meet the evolving needs of consumers. We’re committed to being the digital layer that enables millions of people to gain access to the capital they need, while helping our customers be there as trusted advisors for every milestone in a consumer’s financial journey.”
— Marc Greenberg, head of finance at Blend
