Rent Loyalty Program Startup Reaches Unicorn Status

Startup Bilt Rewards, which gives users points for paying rent on time, has more than quadrupled its valuation following its latest funding round, the company announced Wednesday.

The funding round, led by Left Lane Capital, pumped $150M of equity into the New York-based startup, bringing its valuation to $1.5B, Bilt CEO Ankur Jain told Bloomberg. Other backers include Wells Fargo, Greystar, Invitation Homes, Camber Creek, Fifth Wall, Smash Capital, Prosus and Kairos.

Bilt, which launched just last year, is a loyalty program and credit card operator that allows customers to earn points by paying rent. It reportedly plans to use its new capital reserves on building its brand and product education.

The startup now has more than 500,000 active members and processes $3B in annualized rent payments, while its Bilt Mastercard customers are spending an annualized rate of approximately $1.6B, Jain told Bloomberg.

The company expects its number of active members to grow dramatically as Bilt’s landlord partners — which include AvalonBay Communities, Blackstone, Related Cos. and Equity Residential — direct tenants toward the platform, Jain told Bloomberg.

Bilt is reportedly also planning to expand its ties with single-family rentals beyond its current partnership with Invitation Homes, as well as finding more partners among multifamily owners. Roughly 1 in 5 users live in New York City and Los Angeles, Bloomberg reported.

The startup also launched Bilt Homes, which allows renters to see which homes they could own with mortgage payments equal to their monthly rent. Customers can use points earned through Bilt’s loyalty program toward down payments and closing costs. 

On-time rental payments are also reported to credit bureaus Experian, TransUnion and Equifax, allowing renters to use their monthly payments to boost their credit histories.

Bilt's fundraising and high valuation come as proptech overall has seen investment drop from last year's record highs. Venture capital and proptech executives told Bisnow earlier this year that more startups have been forced to swallow lower-than-expected valuations.

“This is the hardest fundraising environment I’ve ever witnessed,” VC investor Dave Eisenberg told Bisnow in June.