Blend has signed new bank partnership agreements and announced fundraising of $100 million; the firm will partner with Wells Fargo and US Bancorp, providing its mortgage software to help improve the mortgage application process for the two large banks; concurrently, it has also completed a $100 million fundraising round led by Greylock Partners that will increase its value to approximately $500 million and allow it to potentially expand to other lending markets. Source
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Dave Girouard is the founder and CEO of Upstart; Girouard spent almost his entire career working for tech firms including Apple and Google and a lot of Upstart's team actually comes from Google; given that they lean heavier towards the 'tech' side of fintech, Girouard has a unique perspective; shares the general trend of software disrupting every business and that every business will become a tech business; discusses the history of marketplace lending, attributes of a marketplace and the evolution of the marketplaces; reports on how artificial intelligence and machine learning can help in a number of ways including creation of real time analysis, development of customized credit scoring, expanded access to credit through broader underwriting variables and faster processing; also discusses some of the challenges that currently keep machine learning solutions from the mainstream including adverse selection, loan stacking, fraud and regulatory concerns; ends with the benefits of alternative machine learning technology including more inclusion, lower rates, lower costs and greater financial support for consumers. Source
Sallie Krawcheck previously worked as a Wall Street executive but has since founded Ellevest; the company offers a digital investing platform helping female investors access low-cost ETFs based on goals; Venus Williams, a professional tennis player, is among investors in the company; according to Krawcheck, women are less concerned with beating the market and focus rather on ensuring their money won't disappear completely; the platform also considers the longer lifespans of women and the possibility of extended time off from work; Business Insider provides screenshots of setting up an account; the app is not yet in the app store. Source
Financial Planning explores the possibility of an IPO from the leaders in the robo-advice market including Betterment, Wealthfront and Personal Capital; the companies continue to raise money but some question the viability of the market; Betterment has over $10 billion in assets under management, Wealthfront has $7.4 billion and Personal Capital has $4.9 billion; the companies have a combined 420,000 clients and 548,000 accounts; article shares statements by each company regarding IPOs and the differences between the platforms. Source