Online lender BlueVine announced on Tuesday it secured $12 million from new investors, M12, Microsoft’s venture fund, and the venture arm of insurance and financial services provider, Nationwide. According to BlueVine, the additional funding announcement comes eight weeks after the lender reported it had raised $60 million from by Menlo Ventures, SVB Capital, and other investors. The additional funding notably brings BlueVine’s Series E total to $72 million. Speaking about the investment, Elliott Robinson, Partner at M12, stated:
“We’re excited about BlueVine’s suite of technology-enabled working capital solutions for small and medium sized businesses. The company’s market traction to-date has been impressive and we believe their technology and talent have set them on the path for continued growth. We look forward to seeing what they do next.”
Erik Ross, Head of Nationwide Ventures, also commented:
“As the number one total small business insurer in the U.S., Nationwide has a deep and enduring commitment to small business owners. This investment aligns with our strategy to co-create value for our members to help them protect what’s most important and to plan for a secure financial future.”
BlueVine also reported that its total funding volume since inception recently topped $1 billion. The company currently has more than 200 employees in Redwood City, New Jersey, New Orleans and Israel, is marking its 5th anniversary this month. The company was launched in July 2013 and began offering online financing services to small and medium-sized businesses in March 2014. CEO and founder of BlueVine, Eyal Lifshitz, then added:
“It’s been an amazing journey for me personally and for our entire team. We had very limited resources when we began and we were up against bigger and more established competitors. But hard work and persistence have paid off for us. Through cutting edge technology and product innovation, we’ve been able to make capital more accessible to small business owners. These new investments will help us offer more financing to even more entrepreneurs.”