SoFi secures $1 billion in funding

Profitable taking into consideration that 2014 and needing transacted over $5 billion of financing on their network, the organization has previewed the reaching of an additional huge milestone; stepping away from their studies momentarily most popular funding round in the fintech sphere.

This morning, SoFi, as the company is commonly called, announced a stunning $1 billion in fresh funding led by the Japanese telecom giant SoftBank.

Mike Cagney, CEO and co-founder of SoFi, said his platform continues to “redefine consumer expectations” from financial services firm.

For SoFi, the $1 billion in funding provides it a treasure chest to compete against traditional banks to convert new borrowers to its platform. Existing investors that came back for this round include Third Point Ventures, Wellington Management Company, Institutional Venture Partners, RenRen, Baseline Ventures, and DCM Ventures.

Launching as an alternative source for sourcing student loans, SoFi has grown its marketplace lending business into other sectors such as mortgages and personal loans.

SoFi now has more than 400 full-time employees and expects to add at least 100 more by year-end.

While “accelerate growth” and “new products” are fairly vague comments on how the billion freaking dollars will be used, it does get a little more specific: in the coming months it plans to expand its member services (including its Entrepreneur Program and Career Services team) by further building out its job boot camp and job board exclusive to community members.

For SoftBank, the deal marks its entry into the booming fintech investment arena.

“SoftBank seeks to invest in large industries or geographies that are ripe for change”, said Nikesh Arora, president & COO of SoftBank Group Corp.

“This investment gives SoftBank exposure to the financial services sector, which is one of the largest and most important industries in the world”, he says.