American Family Ventures led $60 million funding round for Boston fintech

See Correction/Clarification at end of article

Hometap Equity Partners LLC, a fintech startup in Boston, plans to grow to "well over" 200 employees at the end of next year following the closing of a $60 million funding round, according to CEO Jeffrey Glass.

The company, which now has about 140 full-time employees, mostly based in greater Boston, said last month it closed its latest round led by American Family Ventures along with Bain Capital, ICONIQ Capital LLC, G20 Ventures, Pillar and General Catalyst.

American Family Ventures is the investment arm of Madison-based insurance company American Family Insurance. AmFam Ventures last invested in Hometap in late 2019, when it led a $100 million round. At the time, Hometap had around 30 employees.

The most recent AmFam-led investment round was likely the largest investment round for a Boston-area startup announced in December, according to a listing compiled by Wisconsin Inno sister site Boston Inno. The latest funding round brings total operating capital raised to date by Hometap to $95 million, Hometap said in a press release.

Hometap offers homeowners cash in exchange for a share of their home's future value, and sees returns when homeowners sell or refinance their properties or buy the company's equity percentage out. The company finds new clients through direct-to-consumer marketing channels, channel partners and word of mouth, Glass said.

"These are homeowners who have been in their home for a while and are looking for a way to free up just a small amount of that equity in order to fund another priority in their life," he said. "They might want to send their daughter to college, or they want to renovate the kitchen, or they have a family member who needs some help."

Hometap launched in 2018. That same year, American Family Ventures first invested in the company.

“Since we made our first investment in Hometap in 2018, we’ve strongly believed in its mission to give homeowners a more accessible way to create liquidity and financial flexibility from what is oftentimes their largest asset,” said Dan Reed, managing director at American Family Ventures. “By leading this funding round, we’re casting another vote of confidence in the team’s ability to accelerate its progress. We look forward to a continued partnership that makes a positive difference in the lives of homeowners.”

Glass said that generally, any available capital is split between growing the business and investing in homes. The company's $100 million AmFam Ventures-led round in 2019 was used for both, he said. But the latest round will go entirely into business operations, such as hiring new team members, building technology and investing in partnerships, he said.

Glass didn't say how much capital Hometap has at its disposal right now to invest in homes, but said the company has made "hundreds of millions of dollars" of home investments and has grown quarter-over-quarter for 14 consecutive quarters now.

Glass also didn't say whether he plans for the company to remain privately held.

"I'm focused on building a long-term durable company that we can all be proud of," he said. "We will exit 2022 (at) well over 200 employees."

The new hires will be across tech, sales and operations, finance, HR and others, according to Glass.