US fintech Aven’s valuation tops $1bn with latest $142m Series D capital raise
A new $142 million Series D investment has elevated Aven, a credit solutions start-up based in San Francisco, US, to unicorn status.
Aven secures $142m in Series D funding
The funding was led by Khosla Ventures and General Catalyst (which both previously supported Ramp’s $150 million raise in April), with additional participation from existing investors including Caffeinated Capital, Electric Capital, Founders Fund and The General Partnership.
Founded in 2019 by former Facebook and Square executives, Aven specialises in democratising consumer capital access for homeowners by offering a credit card combined with a home equity line of credit (HELOC), enabling homeowners to “access their home equity in minutes”.
The fintech claims to have issued over $1.5 billion in credit lines for its Aven Home Card to date, helping consumers across the US to save over $100 million in interest payments.
“With our asset-backed credit cards, we give consumers credit for what they own – saving them thousands of dollars without sacrificing convenience,” explains Sadi Khan, co-founder and CEO of Aven.
“We believe there’s no reason for anyone who owns an asset and has good credit history to use unsecured credit. Full stop. Unsecured credit is expensive and unhealthy.”
The fintech says the new capital will be used to expand its offering into “new categories including auto-backed cards, mortgage refinance, and more”, with a focus on entering all 50 US states by next year. It also plans to grow its mobile-based financial advisory tool, Aven Advisor.
To guide these efforts, Aven has also installed a new advisory board, which it says will be focused on “helping the company scale while protecting the interests of its cardholders and offering insights on industry conditions and strategic opportunities”.
The board will consist of four executives, namely Michael DeVito, former CEO of Freddie Mac; Tim Mayopoulos, former CEO of Fannie Mae; Jim Messina, former deputy chief of staff to the White House under the Obama administration; and Kevin Warsh, former member of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System.
