Peer-to-peer lender Social Finance (SoFi) has closed an $80 million round of funding.
The new round, which will be used to expand its lending operations to mortgages and personal loans, was led by Discovery Capital Management and included commitments from Wicklow Capital and the billionaire investor Peter Thiel. Previous investors, Renren, Baseline Ventures, and DCM also participated in the new financing.
SoFi has funded $450 million in loans to over 5,000 members since its 2011 launch. Borrowers using the company's lending service average $9,400 in savings by refinancing their student loans. SoFi provides unemployment protection, career services and an entrepreneur program for borrowers.