Online mortgage lender Athena raises $70 million in Series C

Fintech startup Athena has closed a $70 million Series C round as it looks to push into mortgage origination.

The country’s largest industry fund, AustralianSuper, joined the raise alongside long-term backers Square Peg Capital, AirTree Ventures and Hostplus, as well as Salesforce Ventures and NAB Ventures.

Square Peg’s Paul Bassat joined the Athena board last year when the company raised $15 million in a Series A. Six months later, in November 2018, it raised $25 million in a Series B. The latest cash injection values the company at $230 million.

The cloud-based fintech, founded in 2017 by ex-NAB bankers Nathan Walsh and Michael Starkey, also counts Macquarie Bank, Rice Warner, Apex Capital, and RESIMAC Group among its investors and from the outset targeted super funds as lending partners.

To date, Athena has written around $500 million in loans since its launch in February, with a goal of writing $1 billion in business within 12 months, but has focused on refinancing. It was among the first to respond to recent RBA rate cuts, passing on the full 25 basis points to offer a 2.84% p.a variable rate for owner-occupiers and 3.24% for investors.

The cash injection will have the business eyeing off a market worth around $380 billion annually, with around 80% of that figure new mortgages.