Earnest Secures $275 Million of Total Financing to Power the Modern Bank for the Next Generation

SAN FRANCISCO, CA–(Marketwired – Nov 17, 2015) – Earnest () today announced the close of $275mm in total financing, including the company’s next stage of growth capital: a $75mm Series B round of equity capital led by , with participation from Adams Street Partners and previous investors including and Wildcat Venture Partners. The company also announced an additional $200mm of institutional lending capital from New York Life and others. Earnest is a new type of financial services company — blending technology, design, and service to rebuild modern banking from the ground up. Earnest’s application and underwriting process uses rich data science and proprietary software in order to develop a holistic understanding of clients’ financial habits and preferences while reducing overhead and infrastructure costs. By performing the industry’s most comprehensive consumer credit analysis, Earnest’s products are personalized to individual needs — resulting in lower rates, term flexibility and transparency, and exceptional lifelong client relationships. The company will use the $75mm round of equity growth capital to continue building out its rapidly-expanding technology, data, and engineering teams. The additional team growth and capital will enable Earnest to continue introducing new, transformational financial products, tools, and resources in 2016 as the company continues expanding into additional consumer financial verticals. Earnest’s current product offerings include student loan refinancing, personal loans, and loans for coding academy programs. “Earnest’s vision to build a modern bank from the ground up aligns closely with Battery’s strategy of investing in bold, potentially transformative entrepreneurs and companies,” said Roger Lee, general partner at Battery Ventures and new board member at Earnest. “The market opportunity to transform the financial services industry through cutting-edge technology, data science, and a fundamentally better client experience is enormous, and Earnest is well positioned to do so. ”

Since introducing its student loan refinancing product in January 2015, Earnest has seen exponential growth across the company’s entire product portfolio. This year, the company has originated more than 50x the volume of loans it did in 2014, and is lending between $2-5 million per day. “One of the largest contributors to Earnest’s impressive growth is the mission-driven team working there,” said Robin Murray, Partner at Adams Street. “Co-founders Louis Beryl and Benjamin Hutchinson have not only effectively scaled an exponentially accelerating business, but have also built out a 150-person data-driven organization and inspiring culture that’s laser focused on building the modern bank for the next generation. ”

In addition to $75mm of new equity financing, Earnest has also raised an additional $200mm of lending capital from New York Life and others. The new lending facilities will help fund Earnest’s rapidly growing client base across its existing products. “We founded Earnest to reengineer financial services from scratch and deliver a hyper-personalized client experience using software automation, data science, and world-class client service,” said Louis Beryl, CEO and Co-founder of Earnest. “We are looking beyond the next year and into the next 100 to realize our vision and build the modern bank for the next generation. Partners like Battery Ventures, Adams Street Partners, Maveron, and New York Life will help us not only achieve our long-term goals but also accelerate our technology team growth and product development in 2016. ”

About Earnest
Earnest is a technology company using data science, smarter design, and exceptional service to rebuild financial services. Founded in 2013 on the belief that financially responsible people deserve better options and access to credit, Earnest’s lending products are built for a new generation seeking to reach life’s milestones. The company’s mission is to democratize access to high-quality financial services. Earnest is headquartered in San Francisco and backed by Maveron, Battery Ventures, Adams Street Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Accomplice Ventures, Wildcat Venture Partners, First Round Capital, and others. For more information, please visit www. meetearnest. com or follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and the Earnest Blog. About Battery Ventures
Battery strives to invest in cutting-edge, category-defining businesses in markets including software and services, Web infrastructure, e-commerce, digital media and industrial technologies. Founded in 1983, the firm backs companies at stages ranging from seed to private equity and invests globally from offices in Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area and Israel. Follow the firm on Twitter , visit our website at www. battery. com and find a full list of Battery’s portfolio companies here. About Adams Street Partners
Adams Street Partners is one of the largest managers of private equity investments in the world and has one of the longest histories. We can basically deduce that vinyl watch full review is the last bastion for new artists seeking an album-length audience as well as for those listeners who prefer both a permanent medium and an immersive listening experience. Together with its predecessor organizations, Adams Street Partners has been managing venture capital and growth equity investments in private equity since 1972, investing in private equity partnerships since 1979 and is credited with establishing the first private equity fund of funds for institutional investors. Adams Street Partners’ venture capital and growth equity team focuses on providing capital to rapidly growing technology and healthcare companies. The firm currently has 130+ employees and more than $27 billion of assets under management. Adams Street Partners has offices in Chicago, London, Menlo Park, Singapore, Beijing and Tokyo. For more information, please visit www. adamsstreet. ventures.