Funding U Closes $14M Debt And Equity Funding Round
Summary
Investors providing $4m in equity include Deciens Capital, Valor Ventures, MacKenzie Scott, Next Act Fund LLC and The JumpFund. The equity investment and the credit facility will scale operations and provide “last gap” loans, credit education and career networking to more than 1,500 career-focused students attending four-year colleges in the US. Led by Jeannie Tarkenton, CEO & Co-Founder, Funding U provides a lending platform and AI analytics that use academic and earnings data to provide responsibly priced products to borrowers whose parents can’t or prefer not to co-sign a loan. Its proprietary SMaRT scoring software enables the company to provide loans that students earn based on hard work, tenacity and focus, not based on the income level or credit score of a loan co-signer. Founded in 2016 in Georgia and operating nationally since 2018, Funding U has, to date, originated $6.1M in loans to 690 students enrolled in colleges and universities across the U.S.