Built Technologies, a construction lending fintech platform, has raised $55 million in funding through Goldman Sachs and a handful of investors including Regions Financial, the company said Monday.
The Nashville, Tenn., company finished $31 million in series B funding through Goldman Sachs with the remainder amount raised by venture capitalists and Regions. The funding will help the 5-year-old fintech invest in research and development while building out its national client base, according to the firm’s CEO and co-founder, Chase Gilbert.
“We’re relentless about being the construction lending experts,” he said. “It’s an area that lacks structure and Built’s platform helps lenders understand what they are set up for and to find the best-suited borrowers.”
Gilbert said Built’s construction lending platform is essentially integrated, with underwriting, on top of a bank’s core platform to help lenders digitize the construction lending data that’s often on spreadsheets.
A lending partner "can log in to the branded portal. It accelerates the flow of funds and they’re managing the risk better,” Gilbert said.
Built has serviced more than $24 billion of construction loans since the platform launched in 2015. The fintech works with about 80 lenders in commercial and consumer construction, including Regions, which is based in Birmingham, Ala.
“Built’s technology delivers an enhanced customer experience for borrowers and provides a more efficient and effective process for lenders that have historically relied on manual processes for construction lending,” Jamie Gregory, head of corporate financial strategy at Regions, said in a press release. “We have already experienced positive results in our early pilots integrating Built technology and are excited about expanding it to other areas of construction lending within Regions.”
Goldman Sachs Investment Partners is a global arm of Goldman Sachs Asset Management that specifically invests in fintechs and other innovative startups, primarily with late-stage funding. The group has invested roughly $4 billion in tech companies since 2010.
“Built’s technology platform has demonstrated a strong value proposition to borrowers and lenders alike by streamlining the overall construction loan process, while at the same time increasing transparency,” said Christopher Dawe, co-head of Goldman Sachs' Investment Partners Venture Capital and Growth Equity team. “We are excited to partner with Built and help the company maintain its leadership position within the industry.”
