SoftBank invests $500 million in digital mortgage lender Better.com

SoftBank invests $500 million in digital mortgage lender Better.com

SoftBank has invested $500 million in digital mortgage lender Better.com amid what has been a hot U.S. residential real estate and mortgage refinancing market fueled by record low interest rates.

The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Thursday and later confirmed to CNBC by sources familiar with the matter.

The investment values Better, ranked No. 15 on last year's CNBC Disruptor 50 list, at roughly $6 billion. That's a significant jump from the company's last funding round in November 2020, which valued Better at $4 billion, according to PitchBook data.

The New York City-based company was started in 2016 by Vishal Garg, a former analyst with Morgan Stanley, after a deal to buy a house for his family fell through. An all-cash buyer was able to beat the timing of his traditional mortgage lender, and that's when Garg figured there had to be a better way. He used the down payment he had set aside to start Better.

Amid a frenzy in pandemic-induced refinancing, Better reportedly extended $25 billion in loans last year and $14 billion in the first quarter of 2021 alone, according to the Journal. Additionally, the company not only generated $800 million in revenue last year, but also profits, and is expected to go public by