Home loan start-up Athena secures $45 million in funding

Australian Fintech start-up Athena Home Loans has completed its Series B fund raising.

The Series B raise, led by Square Peg Capital, closed at $25 million.

The Series A fund led by Macquarie Bank and Square Peg Capital earlier this year raised $20 million.

Athena was founded by two ex-bankers, Nathan Walsh and Michael Starkey, and seeks to bypass the banks to connect borrowers to superfund backed loans.

It claims to be Australia’s first cloud native digital mortgage platform.

Venture capitalist and co-founder of Square Peg, Paul Bassat, who also sits on the Athena Board, said Square Peg Capital had invested in Athena in Series A and further solidified by leading the Series B round.

“Having worked with Nathan, Michael and the team over the last year I have enormous admiration forthe speed at which they have navigated complex financial systems to develop a robust and customer- centric mortgage service,” Bassat said.

“Athena is solving a really important problem for home buyers and is certainly one of the most exciting Fintech companies in Australia.

“We are thrilled to back the team again and look forward to supporting them on this extraordinary journey.”

Currently in its pilot stage, Athena is trying to create a compelling option to customers, says Athena CEO Nathan Walsh says. 

“During our pilot, we are already seeing the power of the Athena proposition to save money and change lives,” Walsh says.

“A single mum who will be able to pay off her home loan 19 months earlier and save $130,000 over the life of the loan.

“A family with three young kids who will save $40,000 on their home loan can now take the family on the first holiday in years. It’s powerful stuff.”

“Our key priorities with the investment will be to continue to innovate our platform, invest in talent and scale the business.”