Participated · Series C · Aug 2019

Better.com is a digital mortgage lender that is going public via a SPAC and has recently broadened its offerings to include insurance products. The company amended its financing agreement with SPAC backer Aurora Acquisition Corp. and SoftBank to accelerate funding and bolster its balance sheet. Under the new arrangement Better will receive half of a committed $1.5 billion immediately, and the company expects to have $1 billion in cash on its balance sheet by week’s end. The amendment replaces a prior structure in which approximately $950 million of a $1.78 billion committed financing package would have been used to purchase existing shares rather than fund the company directly. Better says the revised terms do not change its implied valuation of $6.9 billion. Management says the capital will be used to double down on existing businesses, build a custom-first home purchase experience and launch new post-close homeownership products and services. Better.com operates an online mortgage platform focused on digitizing home-loan origination and refinancing. The company says the pandemic and low rates accelerated demand, driving rapid growth in loan volume and staff. Better.com funded $25 billion in loan volume in 2020, funded $14 billion in Q1 2021, and is currently funding over $4 billion in loans per month. Headcount has expanded quickly — the company reported about 4,000 employees in October 2020 and says it now has roughly 6,000 employees. Management has discussed and been reported to be pursuing an IPO, and the company has engaged Morgan Stanley and Bank of America in planning. Better.com has raised over $900 million in total funding since its 2014 inception. Better.com digitized the mortgage process to provide a commission-free, transparent, digital model for financing homes. The company offers mortgage origination plus integrated access to title insurance, homeowners insurance and real estate agents on its platform. Better.com says it has funded $25B in home loans to date and provided over $7B in cumulative insurance coverage through its insurance divisions. Over the last year the company has grown its funded loan volume more than fourfold. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in New York, Better.com emphasizes growing its team and building out its technology to improve the homeownership experience. The company has raised over $400M in equity capital since inception. Better.com is a technology-driven homeownership platform that digitizes the mortgage process with eSign, instant loan estimates, rapid pre-approvals and non‑commissioned loan consultants. The company says it can close a typical mortgage in 21 days versus an industry average of 42 days and advertises average borrower savings of more than $3,000 up front. Founded in 2016 by Vishal Garg after a slow traditional mortgage experience, Better.com emphasizes speed, lower costs and end‑to‑end digital workflows. It has grown 3x year‑over‑year, is funding about $375 million in mortgages per month, funded $1 billion of loans in Q2, and is on track to lend over $4 billion in 2019; since inception it has funded more than $4 billion in loans. The company closed a $160 million Series C, bringing total funding to $254 million, and plans to use capital to accelerate product development, expand partnerships, grow the team and scale the platform. Better.com recently moved its headquarters to 7 World Trade Center and has opened additional offices in Irvine, Oakland and Charlotte. Better.com operates an online mortgage platform focused on streamlining mortgage origination and delivering a digital customer experience. The company recently struck a strategic partnership with Ally Bank in which Better will handle most of Ally’s housing loan operations. Ally Bank’s investment arm, Ally Ventures, is investing $20 million as part of the deal. That $20 million is an add-on to Better.com’s $75 million Series C from earlier this year and the transaction values the company at about $550 million. Better.com originated $1.3 billion in mortgages across 30 states last year (triple the prior year) and expects to reach $3 billion in mortgage originations in 2019. The company plans to pilot the new capabilities in nine states and roll them out across the U.S. by the end of 2019. Founders and senior leaders named in the article include CEO Vishal Garg, head of operations Eric Wilson, CTO Erik Bernhardsson, and head of financial products Viral Shah.