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Prosper Pulls in $165 Million in Funding, Boosting Valuation to $1.9 Billion

Prosper Pulls in $165 Million in Funding, Boosting Valuation to $1.9 Billion

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P2P lending company Prosper brought in $165 million in Series D financing yesterday. This doubles the company’s valuation to $1.9 billion, and classifies it as a fintech unicorn—a private company worth more than $1 billion.

The investment was led by Credit Suisse NEXT. Investors also include financial institutions and venture capital firms:

  • USAA
  • SunTrust Bank
  • J.P. Morgan Asset Management
  • BBVA
  • Neuberger Berman Private Equity Funds
  • Passport Capital
  • Breyer Capital

Founded in 2006, Prosper raised its first round of funding in 2005 to the tune of $7.5 million. Prior to this week’s installment, the company’s funding totaled $190 million; the San Francisco-based company’s funding now totals $355 million.

Three of the financial institutions that furnished the financing, USAA, BBVA, and SunTrust, are in talks with Prosper to co-brand loans for their customers. The company’s competitor, Lending Club, has been co-branding loans with Union Bank since May 2014 and with Bank Alliance community bank members since February 2015.

Prosper facilitated $1.6 billion in loan origination in 2014. This is four times what it did the year prior and more than half of its total $3 billion since launching in 2006.

Prosper plans to use the funding to expand beyond debt consolidation loans into healthcare lending.

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Competitor Lending Club went public last December with an IPO that initially valued it around $8 billion. Its current market cap is $6.9 billion. Lending Club has issued $7.6 billion in consumer loans since launching in 2006.

While both companies are similar, Prosper is working hard to differentiate itself. The company, which offers unsecured consumer loans ranging from $2,000 to $35,000, states it has no intent to enter small-business lending. Meanwhile, competitor Lending Club launched its small-business segment, which enables companies to borrow up to $300,000, in March of 2014. According to American Banker, instead of extending financing to small businesses, Prosper plans to focus on finding a partner to help it expand into South America or Asia.

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Prosper last demonstrated at FinovateSpring 2009 in San Francisco.