Lendbuzz FinTech Raises $150M In Debt And Equity Financing

FinTech Lendbuzz has announced Monday (July 15) that it has secured an additional $150 million in debt and equity financing led by 83North, with participation from existing investors.  The debt funding was led by BHI, ConnectOne Bank, IDB Bank, Viola Credit and a large insurance company.

Lendbuzz’s financing model, which is powered by machine learning and proprietary algorithms, allows it to better assess the creditworthiness of consumers with limited U.S. credit history to help them secure financing for auto loans. As a result, car dealerships have the opportunity to attract additional business opportunities.

Last year, Lendbuzz’s loan origination grew 320 percent, and the company increased its dealership network across the United States to include key markets, including California and Florida.

“This is a significant step forward for Lendbuzz. The capital will allow us to further accelerate our fast-growing car financing platform and enhance our ability to provide the best terms to borrowers that do not have an established U.S. credit history,” Amitay Kalmar, co-founder and CEO of Lendbuzz, said in a press release.

Data shows that more than 43 million foreign born nationals live in the U.S., with 27 million being working professionals. Lendbuzz’s technology allows the company to tap into this market.

“We developed a unique underwriting platform based on alternative data points to evaluate credit risk. Our AutoML Deep Neural Network (DNN) system is continuously improving and allows us to evaluate the true credit risk for people with a limited credit file or missing FICO score,” added Dr. Dan Raviv, co-founder and chief technology officer of Lendbuzz.

This latest round follows a $30 million debt funding round that was completed last year.

“After backing some of the world’s leading FinTech companies, we are very excited to join Lendbuzz and support their ambitious growth plans,” said Arnon Dinur, Partner at 83North. “Lendbuzz is addressing a large and underserved market, has innovative technological underwriting capabilities and unique customer acquisition strategy that supports their high growth.”