Today in Data: U.K. Lender Prodigy’s U.S. Expansion Funding

It can be argued that one of the highest costs to expanding professional careers is that of funding student loans. Post-primary schooling can be one of the most expensive endeavors a young person or adult in continuing education can take on. In the United States alone, student loan debt has surpassed a very large amount that was once not thought possible and is likely going to continue to climb.

Given the tremendous student loan debt here in the United States, Prodigy Finance’s most recent news announcement makes sense. The United Kingdom based online lender has announced its latest round of venture capital funding led by multiple investors to expand into the U.S. With this news, along with BlueVine’s funding, it appears that venture capitalists are no longer wary of online lenders.

Here are the numbers:

$1.4 trillion | Amount of student loan debt in the United States

$240 million | Amount Prodigy Finance raised in its venture capital equity funding round

$200 million | Amount raised on the debt facility by an undisclosed global investment bank

$188 million | Amount raised by online lender BlueVine since 2013

$40 million | Amount raised on the equity side of funding by Index Ventures, Balderton Capital and AlphaCode