SACRAMENTO, Calif., Jan. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Acorn Finance, the world’s first embedded lending marketplace for home improvement financing, has raised $8.4 million in Series A funding led by MassMutual Ventures. Moderne Ventures and previous investors Vestigo Ventures, Accomplice and MetaProp also participated in the round. A prior $4 million in seed financing brings the company’s total funding to $12.4 million.
The latest investment will enable Acorn Finance to expand the number of lenders in its marketplace by including regional banks and credit unions, process loans almost instantaneously instead of next day, enhance the customer experience by slashing application time in half, and improve its algorithms to help borrowers choose the right offer based on key criteria including location, how quickly they need the money, the type of project and their credit risk.
Eric Emmons, managing director of MassMutual Ventures, will join the Acorn Finance Board of Directors alongside Michael Nugent, managing director of Vestigo Ventures, who has been on the board since 2019.
“This new funding will allow us to double our team and expand Acorn’s technology to instantly provide customers with the most competitive lending options at the point of need,” said Giri Addanki, CEO and founder of Acorn Finance. “We are thrilled to welcome MassMutual Ventures and Moderne Ventures as investment partners and look forward to leveraging their deep Fintech and Proptech expertise to accelerate Acorn’s growth.”
In 2021, the number of customers applying for loans through the Acorn Finance platform and Acorn’s revenue grew by 800%. Acorn Finance currently serves the $500 billion home improvement market and is exploring an expansion into additional industries including elective healthcare, legal expenses and e-commerce for a total addressable market of $1.7 trillion.
“Acorn’s embedded lending marketplace increases consumer choice while improving proposal ticket size and conversion rates,” said Emmons. “The team’s outstanding combination of vertical-specific expertise and consumer credit allows them to deliver a unique solution for SMB and service businesses.”
About Acorn Finance
Acorn Finance is the world’s first embedded lending marketplace for home improvement financing, driving better outcomes for borrowers, lenders, contractors and software vendors. Borrowers can shop for the best rates from the best lenders, all within a few seconds and fewer clicks. Lenders can reach more homeowners while also testing the ideal rates for optimum engagement. Contractors can increase sales by offering financing to customers at no extra cost to themselves. Lastly, software vendors to the home improvement industry can add value for contractors and enhance the homeowner’s buying experience by embedding Acorn Finance’s solution within their products’ estimates and invoices. For more information, visit www.acornfinance.com.
About MassMutual Ventures
MassMutual Ventures (MMV) is a multistage global venture capital firm investing in enterprise software, cybersecurity, financial technology, and digital health companies. With our deep expertise and extensive Fortune 500 network, MMV helps entrepreneurs build compelling and scalable companies of value. MMV has offices in Boston and Singapore, with $450 million under management across five funds. The US-based team invests across North America, Europe, and Israel, while the Singapore-based team invests across Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, India, Australia, and New Zealand. For more information, visit www.massmutualventures.com.
About Moderne Ventures Fund
Moderne Ventures is a strategic venture capital firm with over $350M AUM. Moderne invests in technology companies in and around the multi-trillion-dollar industries of real estate, finance, insurance and home services. It has both a Fund and an Industry Immersion Program, the Moderne Passport, designed to foster innovation, partnership and growth between industry partners and new emerging technology companies. Moderne has built an extraordinary network of over 700 executives and corporations within its core industries and evaluates over 4,500 emerging tech companies each year.
