OREANDA-NEWS. SoFi, one of the nation's leading marketplace lenders, and the SoftBank Group ("SoftBank"), today announce USD 1 billion in Series E funding led by SoftBank - marking the largest single financing round in the fintech space to date. Existing investors participating in the round include Third Point Ventures and affiliates of Third Point LLC, Wellington Management Company LLP, Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), RenRen, Baseline Ventures, DCM Ventures and others. The funding will accelerate SoFi's growth as the primary financial services partner for high achieving consumers disenchanted with traditional banking.

The Series E round brings total equity investment in SoFi to USD 1.42 billion. The firm has been profitable since 2014. This capital raise, closely following its Series D round in February, 2015, is a testament to the company's rapid growth and category leadership.

"SoFi continues to redefine consumer expectations in financial services," said Mike Cagney, SoFi CEO and co-founder. "This funding will dramatically advance expansion of our disruptive products and experiences, and in turn, meaningfully benefit financially responsible individuals. Our trajectory is clear: we are well on our way to becoming the most trusted financial services partner in the U.S.," he continued.

SoFi began challenging the status quo in 2011, as the first company to enable graduates to consolidate and refinance their federal and private student loans. Since that time, the company has expanded its offerings to include mortgages, mortgage refinancing, and personal loans, while earning industry-leading customer loyalty. The firm has funded more than \\$4 billion in loans to date and is expected to surpass \\$6 billion in funded loans by the end of 2015.

"SoftBank seeks to invest in large industries or geographies that are ripe for change," said Nikesh Arora, President & COO of SoftBank Group Corp. "This investment gives SoftBank exposure to the financial services sector, which is one of the largest and most important industries in the world. SoFi is clearly a game changer in the fintech space," he added.

The Series E funding will fuel SoFi's growth in product innovation, delivery, community value and team.