Fintech lender Lendai raises $35 million for an AI-powered platform to allow foreign investors to buy real estate in the United States

Fintech start-up Lendai announced on Wednesday that it had raised $35 million in equity and seed debt funding. The company’s goal is to provide foreign non-residential borrowers investing in U.S. real estate with access to immediate financing at competitive rates through its AI-powered Triple Digital Underwriting System platform, making the fast, easy and efficient subscription process.

According to the company’s announcement on Wednesday, this first round of funding is being jointly led by Meron Capital and Cardumen Capital, with underwriting assistance from Discount Capital, Skywell Capital Partners, Mindset Ventures and Viola Credit.

Proceeds from the seed funding will allow Lendai to expand its reach and help level the playing field for foreign investors looking to invest in US residential real estate properties. At the same time, Lendai will use the seed funding to expand its services to more US states and launch new funding loan programs.

Since its inception in 2019, Lendai, based in Tel Aviv, Israel – whose US operations are based in Miami – has built a global network of nearly 200 partners consisting of real estate agents, property management companies, brokers loans, marketplaces, developers, lawyers, accountants and other types of lenders. “Almost anyone who touches a U.S.-based real estate operation and works for a foreign national is a Lendai partner,” says CEO and co-founder Yair Benyamini.

In an interview with ZDNet, Benyamini said that the company’s network of partners and customers is scattered all over the world, from Australia, Singapore, Europe, the United Kingdom, Israel, Canada and even the United States. They use Lendai’s partner platform to connect their foreign investor clients to US funding.

“We basically sit at all market entry points, allowing us to write to thousands of customers who are in those countries, with minimal effort,” Benyamini said. So if you’re a foreign investor who wants to invest in U.S. real estate and you’re ready to finance, it doesn’t matter whether you go to your real estate agent, your loan broker, your property manager, or your accountant who handles your taxes – – you will be directed to Lendai.

The company said its fintech platform provides loan price transparency to foreign investors in minutes and loan closings can be completed in a third of the time it takes for US lenders, according to the company’s announcement. Additionally, Lendai’s platform allows existing owners to receive loans based on the current value of their properties, allowing foreign investors to invest beyond cash transactions and gain access to the largest debt market. world, the company said.

Benyamini said the $35 million round will help expand Lendai’s services to more U.S. states, including California, New York, Arizona and Nevada, and launch new loan programs. funding. As a result, foreign borrowers in more countries will be able to receive larger loans with faster turnaround times and an improved customer experience.

Additionally, Benyamini said that over the next few months, his company plans to offer more lending products, including short-term rental programs, which will expand to include Airbnb-specific loans, residences secondary and vacation properties. The seed funding will also be used to help improve Lendai’s platform to integrate a toolkit of services beyond lending that will help borrowers grow their business, become more competitive and manage their properties. more efficiently.