What will it do with extra funding?
Mortgage industry giants such as IAG, Bendigo, and Adelaide Bank have reaffirmed their confidence in South Australia-based fintech Tic:Toc with further funding in the startup’s series D funding. Shareholder IAG Firemark Ventures led the funding round and allowed Tic:Toc to secure a further $24 million. taking its series D funding to $54 million in total.
The South Australia-based digital lender now has a valuation of roughly $254 million following the second series D funding tranche. It raised $30 million last February.
Tic:Toc bears no relation to the Chinese social media giant TikTok. Headquartered in Adelaide, the fintech aims to transform the digital lending category with a fully automated, all-in-one digital home loan process from application to settlement operated by its proprietary, AI-driven platform.
The new infusion of money will enable Tic:Toc to embed additional products and services to its platform – including insurance products. Tic:Toc also aims to increase the modularisation and scale of application of its platform both in Australia and overseas.
Founder and CEO Anthony Baum said the backing of Australia’s largest general insurance company reflected the success of Tic:Toc’s platform and tech, which has settled around $4 billion since its establishment in 2015.
“We are thrilled to have IAG Firemark Ventures continue its investment in our platform,” Baum said. “The continued support from our shareholders signals confidence in our strategy and demonstrates capital is available for sustainable organisations that are solving critical market problems.”
IAG Firemark Ventures first invested in Tic:Toc in 2018 as part of the corporate venture capital fund’s mission to support startups with market-disrupting business models. Its general partner Scott Gunther said that IAG Firemark Ventures continued to be inspired by how the South Australia-based digital lender delivered “a next-generation digital experience for mortgages in Australia”.
“The evolution of [Tic:Toc’s] business model into becoming a platform-as-a-service (PAAS) provider has been proven out with so many enterprise customers coming onboard over the past 18 months,” Gunther said.
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Gunther also noted that amid Australia’s growing field of fintech and insurtech startup success stories, Tic:Toc still had ‘so much more to offer’ in this part of the financial services sector.
“There is a bright future ahead,” he said.
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