- Digital lending technology company Blend announced it raised $130 million in Series E funding led by Temasek and General Atlantic
Blend, a digital lending technology company, announced it raised $130 million in Series E funding led by Temasek and General Atlantic. Existing investors 8VC, Founders Fund, Greylock Partners, and Lightspeed Venture Partners also joined this round. Including this round, Blend has raised $310 million in total.
“Together with our partners, we’ve made significant strides in transforming lending experiences for consumers and institutions across the country,” said Blend founder and CEO Nima Ghamsari. “As we build toward a more transparent and frictionless future where lending transactions happen in one tap, we’re grateful to have the experience of Ann, along with the teams at Temasek and General Atlantic, in our corner for this journey.”
Ghamsari started his career by working for Palantir after graduating from Stanford. And Ghamsari got the idea for starting Blend while working on Palantir’s financial services business during the 2008 financial crisis.
This round of funding comes at a time where Blend has seen tremendous momentum. Blend now routinely processes nearly $2 billion in loans every day in partnership with over 150 lending customers.
And the company recently announced product expansions into deposit account opening, home equity, and homeowners insurance along with a number of high-level executive additions including former Fannie Mae CEO Timothy J. Mayopoulos.
Blend also named former Pixar CFO Ann Mather as an independent board member position. Mather currently serves on the boards of Alphabet, Airbnb, and Netflix.
“Blend’s technology platform is driving an evolution in how lenders do business and interact with their clients,” added Paul Stamas — managing director at General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm. “Blend’s approach of partnering with financial institutions to reimagine consumer finance has proven hugely successful thus far, and we’re thrilled to assist them in their next phase of growth.”
With this round of funding, Blend is intending to continue growing its team of nearly 400 employees to help financial institutions deepen their relationships with clients bringing simplicity and transparency to consumer lending through one-tap experiences.
And in addition to doubling down on its efforts to digitize the entire mortgage process from application to close, Blend is planning to invest in new technologies, grow its ecosystem of partners, and further its expansion into a broader suite of consumer lending products.
Wells Fargo EVP and head of home lending Michael DeVito told Fortune that his company and Blend “share the same priority,” including using technology to make people’s lives easier.
And Blend’s head of finance Marc Greenberg told Crunchbase that Blend’s “white label” technology powers mortgage applications on the site of banks like Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank.
This round of funding will be used for hiring more employees. And the company is planning to expand into new product lines like auto loan, deposit account opening, home equity support, and homeowners insurance.
