Avant Valuation, Funding & Investors
Avant is valued at $2B as of September 2015.
Last Avant valuation
$2B
Series E · Sep 2015
Last Avant funding round
$325M
Series E · Sep 2015
Cumulative funding Avant raised
$654M
across 5 funding rounds
Key investors in Avant
August Capital
Tiger Global
RRE Ventures
DFJ Growth
![](data:image/svg+xml,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20"><rect fill="%23e5e7eb" width="20" height="20" rx="4"/></svg>)
Mark VadonBalyasny Asset Management
About Avant
Avant is a Chicago-headquartered fintech company founded in 2012 that operates an online lending marketplace connecting consumers in the United States and United Kingdom to personal loans for debt consolidation, medical bills, and travel. Powered by machine learning algorithms analyzing 1,200 data points, the platform matches borrowers with over 20 bank partners, facilitating $10 billion in funded loans. Avant serves subprime and near-prime borrowers with loan amounts from $2,000 to $35,000.
Founded
2012
HQ
Chicago, ILWebsite
Status
Privately held
Customer focus
B2C
Revenue model
Commission
Valuation
$2B (Sep 2015)
Avant Valuation
Avant is currently valued at $2B, based on its Series E in September 2015.
The $325M round was led by General Atlantic, with participation from RRE Ventures, Balyasny Asset Management, August Capital, Origin Ventures, DFJ Growth and 5 other investors.
Avant valuation by funding round
| Date | Stage | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2015 | Series E | $2B |
Avant Funding History
Avant has raised a total of $654M across 5 funding rounds.
Avant's first fundraising round was a $9M Series A in May 2013. The most recent completed round was a $325M Series E in September 2015.
Avant funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2015 | Series E | General Atlantic (lead); RRE Ventures; Balyasny Asset Management; August Capital; Origin Ventures; DFJ Growth; JPMorgan Chase; BAM Elevate; Tiger Global; Hyde Park Venture Partners; Mark Vadon | $325M | $2B | Avant is an online lending platform that uses big data and machine learning to provide personal loans to non-prime consumers, streamlining the borrowing process and operating in 46 U.S. states and the UK. By mid-2015, the company had issued over 250,000 loans and projected personal loan originations to exceed $1 billion by end of Q2 2015. In September 2015, Avant raised $325 million in new equity funding led by General Atlantic, with participation from investors including August Capital, Balyasny Asset Management, DFJ Growth, Hyde Park Venture Partners, JP Morgan Chase, Mark Vadon, Origin Ventures, RRE Ventures, and Tiger Global, achieving a valuation well in excess of $1 billion and joining the unicorn club. Prior to this round, Avant had secured significant debt and equity financing, including $334 million in equity and over $1 billion in debt by August 2015, with additional facilities like a $139 million asset-backed securitization led by Jefferies and a $200 million credit facility from J.P. Morgan and Credit Suisse. The company was Chicago's most funded startup in 2014 according to Crain's Chicago Business, with total funding exceeding $1.4 billion by April 2015. Investors such as Tiger Global Management, August Capital, Victory Park Capital, Peter Thiel, KKR, and DFJ Growth had previously backed the platform. Avant's growth included acquisitions like ReadyForZero in 2014 to integrate debt management features and plans to expand to over 1,000 employees by end of 2015, with a new LA office. The financing supported disciplined growth focused on credit and risk management, attracting Wall Street partners. |
| Dec 2014 | Series D | Tiger Global (lead); KKR; RRE Ventures; Balyasny Asset Management; August Capital; DFJ Growth; Founders Fund; 50 South Capital; Sean Bill; Mark Vadon | $225M | - | - |
| Jul 2014 | Series C | Tiger Global (lead) | $75M | - | Avant (formerly AvantCredit) is an online consumer lending platform providing personal loans to consumers seeking faster and more convenient borrowing experiences. The company raised $75 million in Series C funding on July 23, 2014, led by Tiger Global Management, which brought the company's total equity raised to over $300 million when combined with a $200 million credit facility led by Victory Park Capital. Since its Series B funding in August 2013, Avant had experienced exceptional growth, increasing its quarterly loan volume by over 500 percent and expanding its headcount from 70 to over 300 employees. The funding was intended to support the company's high-trajectory loan portfolio growth, expand its technology and data analytics capabilities, and attract top talent. |
| Aug 2013 | Series B | August Capital (lead); QED Investors | $20M | - | Avant is a Chicago-based fintech company founded around 2012 that provides digital banking solutions, personal loans, and credit cards to middle-class customers using technology, analytics, and customer service. It has connected over one million customers to $6.5 billion in loans and 200,000 credit cards, and raised over $600 million in equity capital overall. QED Investors participated in a 2013 investment in Avant, with Nigel Morris as a champion. A later October 2015 round led by General Atlantic raised $325 million at a nearly $2 billion valuation, as reported by WSJ on September 29, 2015. Avant operates in the lending and fintech sector, with competitors and similar investments by QED including GreenSky, GAIN Credit, and Mission Lane. The company has been featured in major publications like WSJ, NYT, TechCrunch, Fortune, and Bloomberg. |
| May 2013 | Series A | August Capital (lead); Mark Friedgan; Victory Park Capital | $9M | - | Avant is a Chicago-based fintech company founded in 2012 by Al Goldstein, Paul Zhang, and John Sun, providing personal loans to near-prime borrowers earning $50,000-$60,000 annually with credit scores of 600-700. It uses advanced machine-learning algorithms evaluating over 10,000 variables to set loan interest rates from 9% to 39% and funds loans itself, distinguishing it from peer-to-peer platforms like LendingClub. August Capital and Victory Park Capital led a $20 million financing round for AvantCredit, with Mark Friedgan also investing. In 2013, Avant reported $7 million in revenue, growing to $75 million in 2014, and had processed over $1.4 billion in loans to more than 300,000 customers by 2015. The UK market accounted for nearly 20% of revenues, and the company achieved operating profits in the last quarter of fiscal 2014. Avant received venture funding from investors including August Capital, Victory Park Capital, and Mark Friedgan, accumulating significant debt and equity investments. |
Who has invested in Avant?
18 investors have backed Avant across its funding rounds, including August Capital, Tiger Global, RRE Ventures, DFJ Growth, Mark Vadon and Balyasny Asset Management.
Lead investors include General Atlantic, Tiger Global and August Capital.
Avant Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA | 4 | Lead | May 2013 | |
| New York City, NY | 3 | Lead | Jul 2014 | |
| New York City, NY | 2 | Participant | Dec 2014 | |
| Chicago, IL | 2 | Participant | Dec 2014 | |
| San Francisco, CA | 2 | Participant | Dec 2014 | |
| Mark Vadon | Seattle, WA | 2 | Participant | Dec 2014 |
| New York City, NY | 1 | Participant | Dec 2014 | |
| Chicago, IL | 1 | Participant | May 2013 | |
| Alexandria, VA | 1 | Participant | Aug 2013 | |
| Chicago, IL | 1 | Participant | Sep 2015 | |
| New York City, NY | 1 | Lead | Sep 2015 | |
| New York City, NY | 1 | Participant | Sep 2015 | |
| Chicago, IL | 1 | Participant | May 2013 | |
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all 18 Avant investors. Start Free Trial | ||||
Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
Sign up to see data on 350K+ funding rounds and disclosed revenue and EBITDA valuation multiples, from seed, through growth stage, to pre-IPO.
Start Free TrialAcquisitions by Avant
Avant has acquired 2 companies to date.
Last acquisition by Avant was on April 7th 2021. Avant acquired Level for undisclosed valuation.
Latest Acquisitions by Avant
| Description | Level is a mobile banking platform offered by Zero Financial that provides FDIC-insured checking accounts and debit cards through Evolve Bank & Trust. The app features instant cashback rewards on purchases and ATM fee reimbursements. Available nationwide in the United States, Level targets tech-savvy users with features like early direct deposit and cryptocurrency purchases. The service launched in 2021 and integrates with Apple Pay and Google Pay. | ReadyForZero was a San Francisco-headquartered financial software company from Y Combinator's Summer 2010 batch, offering automated debt payoff plans and credit monitoring tools. It tracked balances across 100 institutions, suggesting optimal payments to save on interest. Acquired by Credit Karma in 2014, the platform served 100,000 users before integration. |
| HQ Country | | |
| HQ City | San Francisco, CA | Los Angeles, CA |
| Deal Date | 7 Apr 2021 | 31 Mar 2015 |
| Valuation | undisclosed | undisclosed |
| EV/Revenue | ||
| EV/EBITDA | ||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Avant acquisitions and their M&A valuation multiples. Start Free Trial | ||
Avant Competitors
Avant competitors include listed companies like eFinance, Mony Group and EverQuote, and private ones like PolicyBazaar, OPay and Fever.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Gurgaon | Private | $37M | $21M | $2.4B | 64.9x | |
 Egypt | Publicly listed | $130M | $67M | $1.6B | - | |
 Lagos | Private | $38M | - | $2.8B | 73.7x | |
 United Kingdom | Publicly listed | $599M | $184M | $1.3B | 2.3x | |
| United States | Publicly listed | $693M | $62M | $806M | 0.8x | |
| New York City, NY | Private | - | - | $2B | - |
Avant Public Comps
Avant is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Zip, Lime, Ziff Davis, TX Group, LendingClub, TBO.com, ACV Auctions, Visional, Pagaya and Stubhub.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $951M | $296M | 3.8x | 3.6x | 12.2x | 18.3x | |||
| $887M | $87M | 2.2x | - | 22.2x | - | |||
| $1.5B | $335M | 0.9x | 1.0x | 3.8x | 3.3x | |||
| $1.1B | $310M | 2.1x | 2.1x | 7.2x | 8.1x | |||
| $998M | - | 2.2x | 2.1x | - | - | |||
| $262M | $41M | 6.7x | 5.2x | 43.2x | 34.3x | |||
| $760M | ($19M) | 2.3x | 2.1x | (89.6x) | 24.8x | |||
| $515M | $157M | 3.3x | 2.6x | 10.8x | 9.3x | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Avant competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about Avant
| When was Avant founded? | Avant was founded in 2012. |
| Where is Avant headquartered? | Avant is headquartered in Chicago, IL, United States. |
| Is Avant publicly listed? | No, Avant is a private, VC-backed company. |
| What is Avant's valuation? | Avant was last valued at $2B in its Series E in September 2015. |
| How much funding has Avant raised? | Avant has raised $654M across 5 funding rounds. |
| What was Avant's last funding round? | Avant's last funding round was a $325M Series E in September 2015, led by General Atlantic. |
| Who are Avant's investors? | Avant's investors include August Capital, Tiger Global, RRE Ventures, Balyasny Asset Management, DFJ Growth, Mark Vadon, KKR, Mark Friedgan, QED Investors, Origin Ventures and 8 others. |
| Which companies are comparable to Avant? | Companies comparable to Avant include PolicyBazaar, eFinance, OPay, Mony Group, EverQuote and Fever. |
| How many companies has Avant acquired? | Avant has acquired 2 companies, including Level and ReadyForZero. |
See companies similar to Avant
Start Your
Free Trial Today
Try Multiples for free for 3 days. Got questions or need a demo? Schedule a call with us below.