SMB Credit Score Startup, Nav, Raises $13M in VC

Small business lending platform Nav has topped up its latest equity capital funding.

The company said Wednesday (May 3) that investors at Goldman Sachs Principal Strategic Investments provided an additional $13 million to the company, adding to its previously announced $25 million in Series B funding to $38 million.

Reports said CreditEase FinTech Investment Fund, Point72 Ventures and Clocktower Technology Ventures also participated.

“Our model is solving the access to capital problem in a modern way,” said Nav Co-Founder and CEO Levi King in a statement. “We’re using data to help business owners understand their financial health and dramatically simplify the process of borrowing money and getting credit.”

Lenders can join the platform and connect to SME borrowers. Just months ago, Nav announced Bank of America was its latest addition to the platform, which also facilitates consumer loans and helps assess creditworthiness of borrowers for the financiers.

Nav cited recent data from the Federal Reserve Small Business Survey that found 61 percent of SMEs in the U.S. faced financial challenges last year, many from a lack of easy access to capital.

“Nav’s access to unique data introduces a new level of ease and transparency to small business credit and finance,” said Goldman Sachs Principal Strategic Investment group Managing Director Rana Yared in another statement. “We’re excited to support Nav’s efforts to empower small business owners and help them scale their platform.”

The company also announced Yared would be joining Nav as a board observer.

Nav was previously known as Creditera until it rebranded in 2015.