Victory Park Capital (VPC) announced it will increase its investment in Upstart loans from $100 million to $500 million. Based in Palo Alto, Calif. Upstart is a lending platform that goes beyond the FICO score to finance people based on signals of their potential, including employment history and academic performance.
“We were impressed with the Upstart team’s execution in 2014, and their results give us confidence that this emerging platform is serving a critical market need,” said Tom Welch, principal at VPC. “Upstart’s ability to identify prime borrowers years before other lenders is fundamentally disruptive, and the team has shown that they know how to execute on the opportunity.”
Upstart is committed to providing fairly priced loans to quality borrowers who aren’t well-served by traditional lenders. In the 11 months since inception, more than 5,000 loans totaling $70 million have originated on Upstart, including more than $14 million in March alone.
Dave Girouard, founder and CEO of Upstart, added, “We’re thrilled to expand our partnership with a firm that brings us not just capital but a wealth of knowledge and experience. We’re on a mission to bring financial fitness to all, and teaming with VPC gives us confidence that we’ll have the impact on the world that we want.”
Victory Park Capital is a privately held registered investment advisor dedicated to alternative investing through the management of its investment funds. As specialists in credit and private equity investments, VPC focuses on middle market companies across a diversified range of industries. Whether as a lender or a control investor, VPC seeks to identify opportunities where it believes the potential for reward outweighs the risks entailed.
Founded by ex-Googlers, Upstart goes beyond the FICO score to finance people based on signals of their potential, including employment history and academic performance. Upstart’s proprietary underwriting model identifies high quality borrowers despite limited credit and employment experience. Upstart loans can be used for almost anything, including paying off credit cards, eliminating student debt, paying for a coding bootcamp, or starting a business.