April 19, 2024

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Tera Funding, a Seoul-based startup that operates a peer-to-peer lending platform for real estate developers, said Sept. 2 it has raised a combined 22 billion won ($18.2 million) series B round funding from multiple investors.

New investors in the round include KB Investment, Hana Ventures, Industrial Bank of Korea, Union Investment Partners and Woomi Construction.

Of them, Seongnam-based construction firm Woomi has formerly invested in prop-tech startups Zigbang and Spacewalk.

The round was also joined by existing investors SBI Investment, Atinum Investment and Redbadge Pacific. 

“Tera Funding is an alternative means to raise funds by developers of small and midsized residential areas, instead of conventional lenders,” said Lee Ji-ae, director of KB Investment who led the round. “We highly valued (Tera Funding’s) robust growth, revenue model and potential to improve the real estate value chain.”

Tera Funding has offered provincial home builders loans at around 10 percent interest rate, an alternative to loan sharks.

On the other hand, it has allowed retail investors to seek the corresponding amount of returns for their investment through the platform, in part by exposing its products to popular financial service platforms here such as Toss and Kakao Pay.

Since being founded in December 2014, Tera Funding has extended loans to borrowers worth a combined 886.1 billion won as of end-August, while they have repaid a combined 600 billion won over the cited period. Both figures are the largest in South Korea, which is on the brink of legalizing P2P platforms.

By Son Ji-hyoung (consnow@heraldcorp.com)