It looks like another billion-dollar startup has been born, but this time it’s not based in the United States. Funding Circle, which is based in London, has just raised $150 million in funding to achieve a valuation exceeding $1 billion to expand its peer-to-peer investment platform. This platform make sit easier for small businesses to get their hands on loans and for investors to put in the money to actually finance those loans.
Time to make way for another startup juggernaut out of the financial world. Funding Circle — a London-based peer-to-peer platform for small businesses to get loans, and investors to put up money to finance those loans — is today announcing that it has raised $150 million in venture funding, in a round that we have confirmed values the startup at over $1 billion. Partial news of the financing leaked out ear earlier this month; now we have the details: this latest round was led by DST Global, with participation also from Baillie Gifford, a fund managed by BlackRock, Sands Capital Ventures and Temasek. “We are delighted to support Samir and the team at Funding Circle as they continue to grow and deliver value to both sides of their marketplace,” said Yuri Milner, founder of DST Global in a statement. While the company’s valuation vaults it into the so-called “unicorn” club, it’s about to pass another billion landmark: Funding Circle is on target to loan out $1 billion on its platform this calendar year.
