Lendbuzz gearing up for Nasdaq IPO, targeting $1–1.5 billion valuation
Car loan fintech has raised billions in funding since its founding in 2015.
Israeli-founded Lendbuzz, a financial technology startup that uses artificial intelligence to offer auto loans to people who lack credit history, is preparing for an IPO on the Nasdaq, Calcalist has learned. The company has already signed with several underwriters and is expected to submit its prospectus in the near future. In its most recent round, the company raised funds at a valuation of $1.1 billion, and the IPO is estimated to value the company between $1 billion and $1.5 billion.
In its latest financing round, Lendbuzz raised $345 million, including $45 million in equity at a $1.1 billion valuation and $300 million in debt, led by Group 1001, a major U.S. insurance holding company. In 2021, Lendbuzz raised funds at a $460 million valuation, and in 2022 it secured $44 million at a $960 million valuation. To date, the company has raised $200 million in equity and $2 billion in debt. It employs 500 people, including 50 in Israel.
Lendbuzz was founded in Boston in 2015 by Amitay Kalmar, who serves as CEO, and Dr. Dan Raviv, the company’s CTO. Kalmar previously worked in Deutsche Bank’s technology investment group in Boston. Raviv holds a doctorate in computer science from the Technion and was a postdoctoral researcher at MIT. The two met while studying at MIT.
The company develops and provides a financing platform for car purchases, targeting consumers who often lack access to traditional banking services. Lendbuzz declined to comment when contacted by Calcalist.
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Notable investors in the company include 83North, Eyal Ofer’s O.G. Tech fund, Arkin Group, Mivtach Shamir, and Highsage Ventures.
In December 2023, Reuters reported that Lendbuzz hired investment banks for an IPO that could value it at more than $2 billion.
