Acorn Finance raises $8.4m in Series A funding led by MassMutual Ventures

By Edlyn Cardoza

Acorn Finance, an embedded lending marketplace for home improvement financing, has raised $8.4 million in Series A funding led by MassMutual Ventures. Moderne Ventures and previous investors Vestigo Ventures, Accomplice and MetaProp also participated in the round. A prior $4 million in seed financing brings the company’s total funding to $12.4 million.

The latest investment will enable Acorn Finance to expand the number of lenders in its marketplace by including regional banks and credit unions, process loans almost instantaneously instead of the next day, enhance the customer experience by slashing application time in half and improve its algorithms to help borrowers choose the right offer based on key criteria including location, how quickly they need the money, the type of project and their credit risk.

Eric Emmons, managing director of MassMutual Ventures, will join the Acorn Finance Board of Directors alongside Michael Nugent, managing director of Vestigo Ventures, who has been on the board since 2019.

“This new funding will allow us to double our team and expand Acorn’s technology to instantly provide customers with the most competitive lending options at the point of need,” said Giri Addanki, CEO and founder of Acorn Finance. “We are thrilled to welcome MassMutual Ventures and Moderne Ventures as investment partners and look forward to leveraging their deep Fintech and Proptech expertise to accelerate Acorn’s growth.”

In 2021, the number of customers applying for loans through the Acorn Finance platform and Acorn’s revenue grew by 800%. Acorn Finance currently serves the $500 billion home improvement market and is exploring an expansion into additional industries including elective healthcare, legal expenses, and e-commerce for a total addressable market of $1.7 trillion.

“Acorn’s embedded lending marketplace increases consumer choice while improving proposal ticket size and conversion rates,” said Emmons. “The team’s outstanding combination of vertical-specific expertise and consumer credit allows them to deliver a unique solution for SMB and service businesses.”