LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PeerStreet, the leading marketplace for investing in real estate backed loans, today announced a Series A funding round led by Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.
Alex Rampell, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, led the investment and will take a seat on PeerStreet’s board. Additionally, The Kaiser Family Foundation, Rembrandt Venture Partners, Montage Ventures and others participated in the round. Previous rounds included Michael Burry of Scion Asset Management; Adam Nash, former CEO of Wealthfront; Toba Capital; LeFrak and other notable investors.
"PeerStreet is one of the fastest growing marketplace lenders we've seen, scaling to $165 million in originated loans in a little over a year, with great returns against a secured asset,” said Rampell. “They have a unique distribution model that allows them to leverage existing lending networks to lower loss rates, and grow without direct marketing."
PeerStreet opens up previously difficult to access investments in real estate backed loans to accredited investors. The funding comes just over one year since PeerStreet launched its investment platform in October 2015. This investment round comes on the heels of a significant first year for PeerStreet. To date, the firm has onboarded thousands of investors, funded over $165 million in loan investments and returned more than $50 million to investors; all with zero losses. Additionally, PeerStreet has significantly expanded its national footprint, working with more than 50 lenders and offering investments across half the country.
“I speak for the entire team at PeerStreet when I say how incredibly excited we are to include Andreessen Horowitz on the roster of stellar investors in our company,” said Brew Johnson, CEO and co-founder. “This round of funding will help us further execute on our goal of building a world class investment platform for real estate debt.”
PeerStreet applies technology and big data in a unique way that both enhances lenders’ abilities to purchase and sell loans, and also creates a seamless investment experience that more directly connects end investors to loans. The firm is using marketplace dynamics to fundamentally transform real estate finance.
“This is another strong signal to our customers, partners and lenders that our business is on the right trajectory to fulfill our mission of connecting investors more directly with loans,” said Brett Crosby, COO and co-founder. “Our approach benefits the entire ecosystem by providing more transparency, access and control to mortgage finance.”
About PeerStreet
PeerStreet is a platform for investing in real estate backed loans. Founded by real estate attorney, Brew Johnson and former Google executive, Brett Crosby, PeerStreet allows investors to easily invest in high-yield real estate loans that were historically difficult to access. PeerStreet’s platform is secure and intuitive with an easy-to-use interface and a wealth of information and tools for every level of investor.
