Dec 8, 2017

Max Levchin's lending startup is heading for unicorn territory

Dan Primack

Affirm co-founder and CEO Max Levchin. Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Affirm, the personal credit startup led by PayPal co-founder Max Levchin, has filed a stock authorization form in Delaware that would allow it to raise up to $210 million in new funding at a pre-money valuation north of $1.4 billion. That would be about twice what the San Francisco-based company was worth when it last raised equity funding, in early 2016.

Why it matters: Levchin has a track record for successfully turning established finance models on their heads.

Affirm is aimed at changing the point-of-sale credit market for mid-ticket items, by providing loan payback transparency (e.g., no compunding interest) and incorporating a consumer's income into its decision-making process (as opposed to just a credit score).

Bloomberg had previously reported that the company was seeking to raise around $150 million. To date, Affirm has banked over $400 million from firms like Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Spark Capital. It is unclear who is leading the new round.

[Update: Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC led the round.]

Qualifier: Stock authorization filings allow for a company to fundraise, but do not necessarily reflect a completed fundraise.

Below is the Delaware filing, which was provided to Axios by Lagniappe Labs (creator of the Prime Unicorn Index)

Add Axios on Google

Max Levchin's lending startup is heading for unicorn territory

What to read next