Lead by Khosla Ventures and General Catalyst, Aven, a financial technology startup, has completed a US$142 million Series D fundraising round. The company offers consumer credit cards backed by home equity.

With its most recent investment, Aven has achieved unicorn status in its mission to provide homeowners in all 50 US states with the first home equity-backed credit cards ever.

By carefully and effectively utilising their home equity, homeowners may reduce their credit card interest rates by up to 50% with Aven's credit card program.

In Aven's Series D round, current investors Caffeinated Capital, Electric Capital, Founders Fund, and The General Partnership join co-lead investors Khosla Ventures and General Catalyst.

Aven: A five-year journey to rapid, sustained growth

Aven was founded in 2019 and has achieved unicorn status in just five years. Sadi Khan, Collin Wikman, and Murtada Shah—former Facebook and Square product, design, and engineering executives—founded the business.

In fact, Aven didn't even debut until 2022, which emphasizes even more how quickly it has grown. Currently, Aven's goal is to offer its customers the most affordable prices and simple access to financing.

With the help of its initial product, the Aven Home Card, homeowners may quickly access their home equity and enjoy all the features of a typical credit card, starting at zero dollars.

Aven has provided more than US$1.5 billion in credit lines for its Home Card in the two years since its introduction, saving users more than US$100 million in interest payments to far.

"We believe there is no reason for anyone who owns an asset and has a good credit history to use unsecured credit," says Sadi Khan, co-founder and CEO of Aven. Complete halt. Credit that is not secured is costly and harmful.

"We give consumers credit for what they own with our asset-backed credit cards, saving them thousands of dollars without sacrificing convenience."

Aven: Broadening its product offering

Aven has introduced a number of new financial solutions in tandem with its prosperous expansion. The fintech business introduced Aven Advisor, a free financial advising application optimized for mobile devices, in 2023 after seeing a threefold increase in sales. The tool currently has more than 160,000 users.

With its most recent investment, Aven intends to grow its advice tool, introduce Aven Home Card in all 50 US states, and enter new markets including auto-backed credit cards and mortgage refinancing.

"Aven has built a product that responsibly helps drive down the cost of capital by over 50% for most US homeowners who are using alternative credit cards," says Vinod Khosla of Khosla Ventures. "He does this by using technology to drive efficiency."

Aven is also announcing the establishment of an advisory board, which will aid in the company's growth while safeguarding the interests of its cardholders and providing information on market trends and business prospects.

Four executives will comprise the Aven Advisory Board: Kevin Warsh, a former member of the Federal Reserve System's Board of Governors; Jim Messina, a former deputy chief of staff to the Obama administration; Tim Mayopoulos, a former CEO of Fannie Mae; and Michael DeVito, a former CEO of Freddie Mac.

"I was blown away by the Aven team when I first met them several years ago," says newly appointed board member Kevin Warsh. But at first, I didn't think their main offering would work in the stiff, established business structure that has ruled the mortgage market for many years. The Aven team is significantly disproving the doubters. As their spouse, I am ecstatic.

Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming are the current states where Aven is available.