Google Capital Leads $85 Million Investment In Credit Karma
Latest Round of Funding Highlights Credit Karma’s Innovative Use of Technology to Provide Consumers with Free Access to Personal Finance Products and Services
SAN FRANCISCO, March 5, 2014 — Credit Karma, a consumer finance and technology company, today announced an $85 million round of funding, led by Google Capital. Tiger Global and existing investors Ribbit Capital and Susquehanna Growth Equity also contributed to this latest round of financing, bringing the total amount of equity financing raised by Credit Karma to date to $118.5 million.
Since its launch in 2008, Credit Karma has become the leader in its category by providing more than 20 million US consumers access to their credit score. Its mission is to deliver resources and financial education at no cost to consumers. Through its innovative platform, the company aims to reduce the friction inherent in financial decisions and transactions through data-driven recommendations and deep partner integrations.
“Google Capital’s support – along with Tiger Global and our existing partners – is a public endorsem*nt of how we’re helping consumers navigate the credit space,” said Ken Lin, co-founder and CEO of Credit Karma. “At the core of our company vision is the desire to change how people interact with their finances, making it easier and more transparent.”
Credit Karma intends to use the new capital to invest heavily in new, free services to help consumers better understand and manage their finances and to make finding and applying for new financial services products intelligent and seamless. Credit Karma also plans on accelerating employee hiring in order to meet these goals.
“Consumers want a trusted, secure service to provide personalized financial information that is easy to understand,” said Google Capital Partner David Lawee. “Credit Karma delivers on these extremely high expectations at no cost to consumers. They have established a trusted brand that brings an unprecedented level of transparency to the market. We’re excited to see what’s ahead for the company and to become partners in that vision.”
The investment follows a year of exponential growth for Credit Karma, including triple-digit percentage growth in site membership, revenue and headcount.
About Credit Karma
Credit Karma is a consumer finance and technology company that provides more than 20 million consumers with free access to their credit scores, credit and financial account monitoring, and more. Founded in 2008, Credit Karma’s goal is to bring more transparency to the credit and finance space and provide highly data-driven recommendations to consumers. For more information, please visit CreditKarma.com.
About Google Capital
Google Capital is a growth equity fund backed by Google. Google Capital invests in companies that use technology to change the way people experience the world. Advised by Google technology and product leaders, the Google Capital team has the extensive operational and technical expertise to make smarter investments and help our portfolio companies succeed. Google Capital’s investments to date include SurveyMonkey, Lending Club, and Renaissance Learning. (www.googlecapital.com)
About Tiger Global Management
Tiger Global is a fundamentally oriented, global investment firm. The Firm deploys capital in private equity partnerships and public equity funds. Tiger Global’s private equity partnerships have ten-year investment horizons and invest in growth companies in the global Internet and technology sectors. Tiger Global’s private investments have included SurveyMonkey, Warby Parker, Yandex, Facebook, 360buy, Linkedin, Despegar, Mail.ru Group, Ctrip, New Oriental, Flipkart, Square, Makemytrip, Justdial, Netshoes, MercadoLibre, Trendyol, and Eventbrite. The Firm’s public equity funds focus on long-term trends in the technology, telecom, media, retail and consumer sectors. Tiger Global was founded in 2001 and is based in New York.
