UK-based digital mortgages startups habito has picked up £5.5m in a Series A round led by Silicon Valley-based VC Ribbit Capital.
The round also saw investment from existing backer Mosaic Ventures.
The London-based company aims to help users apply for mortgages and avoid overpaying through its platform that makes use of chatbot interfaces and machine learning designed to make the process more efficient.
Launching in April 2016, the company claims to have attracted more than 20,000 customers and facilitated more than £50m in mortgage applications.
The platform currently offers access to more than 10,000 mortgage products from a range of more than 60 lenders.
habito founder and CEO Daniel Hegarty said: “The amazing response we’ve received from customers has proved what we always knew – there’s a huge opportunity to make the experience of getting a mortgage simpler, more transparent and a lot less painful.
“The industry has suffered from a lack of innovation for decades and the outdated, paper-based manual processes aren’t fit for 21st century homeowners.
“Our technology empowers people to take control of their personal finances and protect themselves against getting or staying on the wrong mortgage.
“We’re excited to continue to build our business and deliver new services that provide Britons with the best mortgage experience possible.”
The company says it will use the new capital to accelerate growth and continue to develop the technology behind its platform.
This specifically includes its machine learning capabilities with habito ultimately aiming to create a fully automated end-to-end platform to offer new services such as real-time approvals and alerts of better deals.
Ribbit Capital founder and general partner Mickey Malka said: “We believe habito has the leadership, business model and technology expertise to shake up the mortgage industry in unprecedented ways.
“Mortgages are the biggest personal debt most people take on in their lifetime, and habito brings a level of transparency that customers value and expect.”
The round follows the $2.2m habito raised in April last year and brings its total funding to £8.2m to date.
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