P2P lending platform Funding Circle raises USD 150 mln

The funding round was led by Russia’s DST Global, a venture capital firm run by Yuri Milner, an early backer of Facebook, Airbnb and Alibaba.

The terms of the investment were not revealed, but people familiar with the matter said Funding Circle was valued at about USD 1 billion.

Other groups to participate in the round include BlackRock, an asset manager, Singapore’s state investment company Temasek, UK-based asset manager Baille Gifford and US investment group Sands Capital Ventures.

Funding Circle has also unveiled it had hired new executives, including David Yu, the former chief executive of Betfair, who joins as its global chief product officer.

Funding Circle has raised USD 288 million in total, with existing investors including Index Ventures, Accel Partners, Union Square Ventures and Ribbit Capital.

In February 2015, Funding Circle entered an agreement with US asset manager Victory Park Capital.