On Tuesday, California-based peer-to-peer lending company Prosper Marketplace said it received USD25 million in investment commitments in its recent funding round. The funding round was led by Sequoia Capital and had multinational investment firm BlackRock, Inc. as one of its newest backers. The new funding came nine months after its last funding round which had raised USD20 million for Prosper.
According to the New York Times' The Dealbook, the investor support indicated in the recent funding round was robust and that there is still continued interest in peer-to-peer lending industry. A prominent lender Lending Club recently garnered a USD1.55 billion investment from investor Google Inc.
Prosper's chief executive Stephan Vermut told Dealbook in a phone interview, "The space has gotten a lot of recognition and acceptance. I think there's an appreciation of peer-to-peer lending that it is providing true value to borrowers and to lenders."
The funding would go towards rebuilding the company as a top lender after Lending Club claimed prominence. BlackRock managing director and senior member of BlackRock Alternative Investors Brian Stern said about its investment in Prosper, "We're excited about investing in Prosper and see them as a leader in this emerging category."
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