Fintech Aven raises $110M, expands into mortgage refinancing

Fintech Aven has raised $110 million in a Series E funding round, expanded into mortgage refinancing and added heavyweight advisers Lawrence Summers and Patrick McHenry to its board, the company announced Tuesday.

The San Francisco-based fintech, best known for its home equity-backed credit card, is now valued at $2.2 billion following the round led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from existing investors General Catalyst, Caffeinated Capital, GIC, Electric Capital and Founders Fund.

Founded in 2019, Aven claims it has issued more than $3 billion in credit lines, saving homeowners $215 million in interest. Its credit card backed by a home equity line of credit (HELOC) can reportedly reduce borrowing costs by up to 50%, while its rewards program offers 2% unlimited cash back.  

The firm’s ambition is to build a “machine banking” platform that uses real assets to lower costs for consumers. Alongside the Aven Home Equity Card and Rewards Card, the company is now rolling out a mortgage refinancing product. Its Visa credit cards are issued by Coastal Community Bank. 

“We’re building a one-stop financial platform designed to fully serve the needs of homeowners,” Sadi Khan, co-founder and CEO of Aven, said in a statement. “Our expansion into mortgage products will bring the same speed and efficiency that transformed home equity access, with the goal of creating the best mortgage refinance experience in the market.”

Aven has added relationships with Summers, a former U.S. Treasury Secretary, and McHenry, the former chair of the House Financial Services Committee, in this new phase. 

The company’s advisory board also includes Kevin Warsh (a former Federal Reserve governor), Michael DeVito (former CEO of Freddie Mac), Tim Mayopoulos (former CEO of Fannie Mae) and Jim Messina (former White House deputy chief of staff).

“Aven is addressing a pervasive challenge in consumer finance: the high cost of capital,” Summers said in a statement.