An investment of $175 million has boosted Credit Karma’s total capital to $368.5 million and given the company a valuation of $3.5 billion.
Participating in the Series D round were Tiger Global Management, Valinor Management, and Viking Global Investors. Credit Karma said the new funding will help them add new features to the platform.
“Today, no one tells you when your credit rating goes up or when a lower interest rate is available for your loan,” says Ken Lin, Credit Karma CEO and founder. “We’ll soon be able to let people know when they have an opportunity to save money, and if they’ll be approved, with new levels of certainty.”
Lin says he plans to leverage the data insights from the company’s more than 40 million members to “deliver top-quality insights for everyone looking to improve their personal finances.”
The funding announcement also included a preview of what Credit Karma has in store for the platform. This new functionality includes the ability to consolidate student loans with just a few clicks; comparison-shop for customized insurance quotes; find the best credit card for their spending and savings profile, and more. “Our members will be able to apply for something without filling out endless forms,” says Nikhyl Singhal, Credit Karma’s chief product officer. The goal is to ensure that customers don’t have to provide any more personal information than is absolutely necessary, while at the same time providing access to a broad variety of potential lenders.
It was less than a year ago that Credit Karma announced a valuation of $1 billion, and a little over a year since the company began providing free weekly credit reports to its members. This spring, Credit Karma launched its Thin File customer experience, which helps members with little or no credit history review their own situation to learn how to build a good credit history and see which credit products (cards and loans) would be most appropriate for their needs.
Credit Karma last demoed as part of FinovateSpring 2009. Named to Inc.’s “20 Financial Startups You Need to Know” in May, Credit Karma was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in San Francisco. It is now the second-most-valuable Finovate alum, trailing only Lending Club (LC), trading at a $6.2 billion valuation today.
