College Ave Student Loans secures $20M to fuel growth

Wilmington, Del. –  College Ave Student Loans, the locally based next- generation student loan marketplace lender,  announced it secured $20 million in financing from Comcast Ventures.

Comcast Ventures is the venture capital affiliate of Comcast NBCUniversal. College Ave also secured funding thanks to participation from Fenway Summer Ventures (headed by former CFPB Deputy Director Raj Date), DW Partners, former SLM Corp. CEO Al Lord, and existing and new individual shareholders.

In addition to the funding, Dave Zilberman, managing director, Comcast Ventures, will join College Ave’s board.

“We’re very excited about the success of our recent capital raise,” said Joe DePaulo, College Ave’s co-founder, chairman, and CEO. “The education finance market is in the first stage of a meaningful change. With our innovative products and state-of-the-art technology platform, we’re able to deliver what today’s customers want: loans that are simple, clear, and personalized to their unique needs.”

Founded by former Sallie Mae executives and industry veterans to address the needs of an evolving student loan landscape, College Ave began originating loans in December 2014 and has received more than $1 billion in loan requests from applicants since inception. It is the first and only marketplace lender to launch with a focus on the in- school student loan market.

“With its exceptional growth and strategic long-term vision, College Ave Student Loans is well positioned to disrupt the multi-billion dollar student loan marketplace,”said Dave Zilberman, managing director of Comcast Ventures. “We are very excited to lead College Ave Student Loans’ funding round and help the company to continue to grow and scale.”

College Ave has now raised more than $40 million in equity funding since its creation in August 2014 and currently has more than $1 billion of committed loan purchasing power from multiple sources, with Moelis & Company as exclusive financial advisor and Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP providing legal counsel.