Mortgage Tech Startup Easy Raises $15 Mn; Aims To Achieve $150 Mn In AUM

Mumbai-based mortgage tech startup Easy has raised $15 Mn in its Series A round led by Xponentia Capital Partners. Existing investors Harbourfront Capital, Finsight VC, RaSa Future Fund, among others participated in the round.

Founded in 2018 by Rohit Chokhani, Easy offers mortgages to underserved customers via mobile. The startup operates across the country in a phygital model and claims to offer instant decisions on home loans. The startup is registered under the National Housing Bank.

The mortgage tech startup has developed an in-house property intelligence tech combined with credit tech to deliver faster results. “We have seen our fastest client from origination to moving-in the property in 2 days,” claimed Chokhani.

At present, Easy has assets worth $15 Mn under management and has raised more than $40 Mn in debt and equity funding.

It will be utilising the fresh capital to achieve $150 Mn assets under management in the next 24 months. The company also wants to expand its network to more than 100 locations across the country.

According to the startup, despite the large size of the mortgage market in India, it constitutes only 10% of the GDP and the space hasn’t been digitised. At present, originating, processing, and underwriting a home loan with a large bank lender still requires heaps of paperwork and multiple physical visits to a branch. This is where Easy comes in.

Commenting on the investment, Alexey Garyunov, general partner at Finsight Ventures, said, “We see the unprecedented demand for affordable housing fuelled by India’s growing urbanisation and government initiatives like PMAY. At the same time, the lower-income group segment was always considered to be the hardest for financial institutions. This is where technology comes to bring operating efficiency in the segment and superior customer experience. We believe that, with the help of tech, Easy can become an essential element in the capital chain aimed to solve the housing challenge in India.”

Mortgage-tech has been an emerging segment in the US with several unicorns such as Blend and Better.

In terms of India, firms such as Steadview, Sequoia Capital, LGT Lightstone and Blackstone have already invested in companies present in the real estate sector. For instance, Steadview, Sequoia Capital, and WestBridge have already invested in IPO-bound Aptus Value Housing Finance. LGT Lightstone has invested heavily in a Gurugram-based affordable housing financier – Umeed Housing Finance. The company last raised funds worth $164 Cr. In 2019, investment firm Blackstone had acquired a majority stake in Aadhar Housing.

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