A startup that helps you refinance your automobile loan is setting up shop in Chicago.
Auto Approve, a Minnesota-based firm that helps consumers with auto loan refinancing, said Monday it has opened an 18,000-square-foot office in the Willis Tower. The company said it plans to hire 100 Chicago employees over the next year.
Auto Approve was founded in 2016 and is led by CEO Alex Hooper. The company is backed by Neil Bluhm, the billionaire Chicago real estate and casino magnet.
The company's technology helps users quickly find the best auto loan refinancing deals. It says it saves customers an average of about $150 a month on their auto loan.
Auto Approve says that by the end of the year, it expects its overall headcount to grow to 400.
Since its launch in 2016, the company says it has worked with more than 55,000 customers, helping refinance $1.5 billion worth of car loans. Its goal, the company says, is to get people out of unaffordable and predatory auto loans and match them to a lender with a better rate.
The news comes the same day Zonetics, a health-security company, announced plans to open a Chicago headquarters in the Merchandise Mart with plans to hire 100 employees of its own.
