SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Prosper Marketplace, Inc., a leading peer-to-peer lending company, today announced it has raised $25 million in additional funding to accelerate the company’s growth at a time when peer-to-peer lending is attracting a record number of borrowers and lenders. The round, which was led by existing partner Sequoia Capital, also includes a new investment by BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, as well as a broad representation of existing investors.
Since bringing on a new management team in January 2013, the Prosper platform has more than tripled its monthly loan originations, rising from $9 million in January to $32 million in August, and bringing total loans to more than $600 million since inception. The company has also been focused on its foundation, improving efficiencies and introducing new products to the Prosper platform that have benefited existing customers and helped to attract new borrowers and lenders.
“We’re very pleased to be partnering again with Sequoia Capital and now with BlackRock, a worldwide leader in investment management, risk management and advisory services. Their investment in Prosper underscores the huge potential of this company and the peer-to-peer lending industry overall,” said Stephan Vermut, CEO, Prosper Marketplace. “We’ve made great progress over the past eight months as evidenced by the platform’s consistent growth in loan originations. This round of financing will be instrumental as we continue to invest in our infrastructure, products and customer acquisition in order to further fuel our growth.”
“We’re thrilled with the rate at which Steve and his team have improved upon Prosper’s business model, enabling more and more individuals to discover better rates and have a more positive experience,” said Pat Grady, a partner at Sequoia Capital. “We’re proud to support Prosper in their mission to streamline and democratize the capital markets.”
“Prosper is a leader among an emerging group of lending companies that use technology to more readily connect borrowers and lenders – providing unprecedented choice and enabling both parties to better achieve their goals,” said Brian Stern, Managing Director and a member of BlackRock Alternative Investors. “We believe that Prosper exemplifies the type of thoughtful innovation that will enable greater access to and growth in global capital markets.”
About Prosper Marketplace, Inc.
Prosper Marketplace, Inc. is the parent company of Prosper Funding LLC (www.prosper.com), which owns a leading peer-to-peer financing platform to invest and borrow money (the "Prosper platform"). The Prosper platform connects people who want to invest money with people who want to borrow money. On Prosper.com, borrowers list loan requests between $2,000 and $35,000, and retail and institutional lenders invest as little as $25 in each loan listing they select. Institutional investors can also elect to participate in the Whole Loan Program. Over the past six years, more than $600 million in personal loans have originated through the Prosper platform. The unsecured personal loans are used by Prosper borrowers for a variety of purposes including paying down high interest rate debt and helping with small business funding. Learn more at www.prosper.com.
About Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital helps founders turn imaginative ideas into enduring companies. As the "Entrepreneurs Behind the Entrepreneurs," the Sequoia team has worked closely with legendary founders such as Steve Jobs of Apple, Larry Ellison of Oracle, Len Bosack and Sandy Lerner of Cisco, David Filo and Jerry Yang of Yahoo!, Max Levchin, Elon Musk and Peter Thiel of PayPal, Sergey Brin and Larry Page of Google, Steve Chen and Chad Hurley of YouTube, and Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn. Sequoia is now helping the next generation of innovators build the lasting companies of tomorrow.
About BlackRock
BlackRock is a leader in investment management, risk management and advisory services for institutional and retail clients worldwide. At June 30, 2013, BlackRock’s AUM was $3.857 trillion. BlackRock helps clients meet their goals and overcome challenges with a range of products that include separate accounts, mutual funds, iShares® (exchange-traded funds), and other pooled investment vehicles. BlackRock also offers risk management, advisory and enterprise investment system services to a broad base of institutional investors through BlackRock Solutions®. Headquartered in New York City, as of June 30, 2013, the firm has approximately 10,700 employees in 30 countries and a major presence in key global markets, including North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East and Africa. For additional information, please visit the Company's website at www.blackrock.com.
