Creditas will use funds from a July funding round to expand its product portfolio

Creditas, a São Paulo-based secured lending platform, announced a $231 million funding round on July 10. The firm now carries a valuation of $750 million.

SoftBank Group led the funding round. Existing investors Vostok Emerging Finance, Santander InnoVentures, and Amadeus Capital will also participate.

Focus on technology

Creditas set out with the mission to reinvent the Brazilian lending market using technology, rather than to fix and correct it.

The company uses home-grown technology and software to power the platforms for new product offerings.

“We will also ramp up use of automation technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) that allow us to increase the efficiency of credit processes, and also sharpen our use of data analytics so that our algorithms can improve our prediction, customer profiling, and decision-making capabilities,” says founder and chief executive, Sergio Furio.

How Creditas will use the funding

The firm’s tech vision is in line with SoftBank’s investment philosophy, which focuses on data and automation.

The company will use the new funding to double its technology team and invest in data-driven and innovative products in payroll, home, and auto loans.

It also plans to expand internationally in Mexico.

It will also set up local offices in other parts of Brazil to broaden its catchment area for tech talent.