Student loan specialist CommonBond has raised $30 million in a Series C funding round led by Neuberger Berman Private Equity and another $300 million in debt to make loans.
CommonBond acts as a marketplace where users can refinance student loans, claiming to save borrowers more than $14,000 in average over the life of their loan.
While the alternative online lending market has experienced a rocky few months, the student loan outfit has won significant backing, with existing investors August Capital, Tribeca Venture Partners, Social Capital, Nyca Partners and Victory Park Capital all joining the funding round.
The firm says that it will use the money to hire across the organisation, build out its technology platforms for consumers and employers, and scale its loan operations.
This will be boosted by the $300 million in loan purchases, which comes from an unnamed "leading global asset management firm" and takes CommonBond past $1 billion in total financing across equity and debt.
In addition, CommonBond has bought Gradible, a personal finance platform founded in 2013 that will be used to help build out a new employer platform for student loan repayment.
David Klein, CEO, CommonBond, says: "Our mission is to have as broad an impact as possible on the financial health of consumers in the US. And with our new investors and our new suite of employer-based products, we're able to take our mission to the next level, now reaching all 40 million Americans with student debt, regardless of their financial profile."