Fast-Growing Marketplace Lender Avant Reaches $1 Billion Funding Milestone

CHICAGO, May 11, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Avant, a leading online marketplace lending platform, is pleased to announce the platform has reached $1 billion in loan originations since launching in January 2013. This new milestone for the company illustrates the exponential growth exhibited by the two-year-old company.

Al Goldstein, Avant CEO and a 2015 EY Entrepreneur of the Year Midwest Finalist, attributes Avant's growth to the company's increasing customer base and streamlined customer experience. "We are currently at 200,000 customers and growing each day," says Goldstein. "What is unique about our product is that we cater to the middle class. We are one of the only marketplace lending platforms in the space focused on enhancing the borrowing experience for the everyday consumer and tailoring our products to fit each consumer's individual financial situation."

Avant's rapid growth trajectory is the result of accurate models driven by big data and machine-learning algorithms that have transformed the traditional personal loan process into a streamlined, customer-friendly experience. Nearly half of Avant's applicants are approved in real-time and customers can receive funding as soon as the next business day. Avant's innovative business model has allowed the company to grow from its three co-founders to more than 600 employees. Avant recently expanded to include offices in Los Angeles and the United Kingdom and expects to employ 1,000 people by the end of 2015.

The company's continued growth is also driven by the recent launch of the Avant Institutional Marketplace, a program enabling institutional investors to purchase loans originated by the Avant technology platform. This step in Avant's financing strategy will allow the company to move forward with a hybrid funding model that allows Avant to focus on growth and continue to serve the unique financial needs of the everyday consumer. To date, Avant has secured $1.4 billion in funding and counts Tiger Global Management, August Capital, Victory Park Capital, Peter Thiel, KKR, DFJ Growth and RRE Ventures among its investors.

About Avant
Avant is an online marketplace lending platform that is changing the way consumers obtain credit by lowering the costs and barriers of borrowing. Utilizing big data and machine-learning algorithms, the company offers a unique and highly customized approach to streamlined credit options. At its core, Avant is a tech company that is dedicated to creating innovative and practical financial products for all consumers. Avant has secured more than $1.4 billion in funding to date and more than 200,000 loans have been issued through the Avant website. Avant has been featured in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, TechCrunch, Fortune, Bloomberg and Crain's Chicago Business and Avant was named to Forbes America's Most Promising Companies  list for 2015 as well as Forbes Next Billion Dollar Startups list for 2015. Avant operates in 46 U.S. states (where loans are originated by WebBank and by Avant affiliates) and in the United Kingdom. Find out more at www.avant.com.

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Contact
Carolyn Blackman
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SOURCE Avant

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http://www.avant.com