GROUNDFLOOR

Online, December 9, 2015 (Newswire.com) - ATLANTA--GROUNDFLOOR, the first and only real estate lending marketplace open to non-accredited investors, today announced that the company has closed a $5 million Series A round led by Fintech Ventures. Previous investors also participated in the round, bringing the company's total financing to $7.5 million to date.

"We're on a mission to establish a new and better option for household capital formation by opening the $70 billion private real estate lending market to everyone. This round is a critical milestone on that path."

On the heels of a recent product release, the company plans to use the new funds to scale lending operations and fuel nationwide expansion. The marketplace is now operating in nine jurisdictions nationwide and growing at a rapid pace. Since opening its limited, invite-only release following qualification by the SEC on August 31, GROUNDFLOOR has doubled its investor base. The company has funded 54 loans and sold over $3 million in Limited Recourse Obligation securities to date.

The new capital will be deployed to support new lending-operations hires in strategic regions, develop new investor tools, and continue advancing GROUNDFLOOR's innovative regulatory roadmap for the benefit of all self-directed investors.

"As we frequently say, the source of capital matters," said Brian Dally, CEO and co-founder. "That's as true in building emerging companies as it is in building more efficient, more accessible capital markets. We're fortunate to have a resourceful investor with global perspective backing us."

Fintech Ventures Fund is a new early-stage venture fund led by Serguei Kouzmine, a seasoned entrepreneur and senior executive with 20 years of experience building high-tech financial businesses. The fund announced today that GROUNDFLOOR is their initial investment out of a new $100 million fund that was raised earlier this year. The fund is strategically headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and focused on non-banking lending/savings products and smart payment systems worldwide.

"We're bullish on GROUNDFLOOR because they are delivering a new, mass-market financial product to an untapped investor class," said Serguei Kouzmine, managing director, Fintech Ventures Fund. "The Fintech market is a global phenomenon, which reaches far beyond both Silicon Valley and the United States; therefore, people should not be surprised that innovation in this market comes from many corners, and Atlanta is one of the hottest."

"The investment from Fintech will accelerate every facet of our business," said Nick Bhargava, EVP and co-founder, GROUNDFLOOR. "We're on a mission to establish a new and better option for household capital formation by opening the $70 billion private real estate lending market to everyone. This round is a critical milestone on that path."

To learn more, or to fund your account, please visit www.groundfloor.us/.

About GROUNDFLOOR:

GROUNDFLOOR is the first and only real estate lending marketplace open to non-accredited investors. We open the door to short-term, high-yield returns backed by real estate. Typical loans have returned 12 percent annually on a six-to-12-month term.

GROUNDFLOOR was founded in 2013 by Brian Dally and Nick Bhargava. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with a fast-growing team on a mission to reformat and open private-capital markets for the benefit of individual investors and the investments they fund.

Fund your account today at www.groundfloor.us/.

About Fintech Ventures Fund:

Fintech Ventures Fund is a $100 million venture capital investment fund focused on providing equity to emerging leaders and promising companies that are developing innovative, non-banking lending/savings products and smart payment solutions.

Our primary mission is to build strategic partnerships with entrepreneurs and provide them with the resources and support they need to successfully build great businesses.

The fund was raised in 2015 and is managed by Serguei Kouzmine and based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Fintech Ventures team collectively has decades of personal, entrepreneurial, managerial and investment experience in building billion dollars companies from humble beginnings.

Source URL: http://businesswire.com/news/home/20151209005765/en