Tellus raises $26m to scale expansion plans

By Leandra Monteiro

Tellus, a smart savings platform powered by real estate, announced $16 million seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz, following a $10 million SAFE. All-Stars Investments, Alumni Ventures, Decent Capital, Vectr Ventures, West Arrow, and Westwood Ventures also participated in the Seed, along with notable angel investors such as the co-founders of YouTube, Lime Bike, and Sereno Group Real Estate. Tellus will use the proceeds to scale its team and continue to build out its platform.

“Tellus gives people access to savings opportunities through a method previously only available to the ultrawealthy: earnings from residential home mortgages,” said Rocky Lee, co-founder of Tellus. “We built Tellus to bring together everyday consumers’ need for passive income and attractive rates.”

“We reward people for saving and developing healthy money habits,” added Tellus co-founder T Zhu. “We want to help everyone build wealth via real estate. Historically, real estate has proven to be resilient during periods of inflation. Harnessing it, and without giving up your liquidity to do so, is the challenge.”

The company was founded in 2016 to enable more people and families to take greater control of their personal finances and address the widening wealth gap. The company generates yields by providing single-family home loans to American borrowers in prime cities. Mortgages are always overcollateralized and the interest is awarded to customers through the app. The app also helps users budget funds, set financial goals, and accelerate their savings, modernizing wealth-building through real estate.