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Aven Financial, a San Francisco-based tech company that offers homeowners low rates on a credit card backed by their home equity, has raised $142 million in a series D round that values the company at more than $1 billion.
Since launching in California in 2022, Aven says it’s issued over $1.5 billion in credit lines for the Home Card, which offers rates as low as 7.99 percent APR — the lowest rate of any credit card in the U.S., the company claims.
That’s because the Aven Home Card is a home equity line of credit (HELOC) card, which requires the borrower to put their home up as collateral.
Sadi Khan
“We believe there’s no reason for anyone who owns an asset and has a good credit history to use unsecured credit,” Aven co-founder and CEO Sadi Khan said in a statement. “With our asset-backed credit cards, we give consumers credit for what they own — saving them thousands of dollars without sacrificing convenience.”
Issued by Coastal Community Bank, Aven’s Home Card provides credit lines of up to $250,000 and is available in 32 states, with plans to expand coverage to all 50 states by next year.
Aven’s latest funding round was led by Khosla Ventures and General Catalyst, with participation from existing investors including Caffeinated Capital, Electric Capital, Founders Fund and The General Partnership.
Former Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac chief executives Tim Mayopoulos and Michael DeVito are joining a newly formed advisory board that will focus “on helping the company scale while protecting the interests of its cardholders and offering insights on industry conditions and strategic opportunities.”
The advisory board will also include former Federal Reserve board member Kevin Warsh and former Obama administration Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina.
Vinod Khosla
“By using technology to drive efficiency, Aven has built a product that responsibly helps drive down the cost of capital by over 50 percent for most U.S. homeowners who are using alternative credit cards,” Vinod Khosla of Khosla Ventures said in a statement.
Aven claims its Visa card is more convenient than a traditional HELOC, with many borrowers receiving approvals in less than 5 minutes and closing in as fast as 15 minutes.
The Aven Card also works like a traditional rewards card, providing 2 percent unlimited cashback and 7 percent cashback on hotels partnered with Aven through its travel portal.
Figure Technologies Inc., founded in 2018 by SoFi veteran Mike Cagney, is partnered with a growing stable of mortgage lenders and claims to be the nation’s largest non-bank provider of HELOCs.
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