South Korean peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform PeopleFund announced that it has raised an additional US$20 million led by existing investor Bain Capital.

The round, which was open only to its existing investors, was joined by Access Ventures, CLSA Capital Partners Lending Ark Asia, D3 Jubilee Partners, 500 Global, Kakao Investment, TBT Partners and IBX Partners.

PeopleFund said that it will use the new funds to further advance its AI-powered risk management and credit scoring system for its users.

The firm is also looking to roll out a B2B service to provide AI-enabled customised credit scoring system services to financial institutions this year.

This latest raise follows its US$63.4 million Series C financing round that was closed in December 2021 which brings its total equity raised to approximately US$100 million.

The P2P lender had also secured US$240 million in debt financing last year from Goldman Sachs, CLSA Lending Ark Asia and Bain Capital.

Joey Kim, Founder of PeopleFund said,

“2022 will be marked as a year of turbulence for fintech, with the global public market adjustment alongside changes in the macro environment. Meanwhile, the Korean consumer lending market has undergone a dramatic transition into the mobile sphere, with big players like KakaoPay and Toss leading the change.

 

This transition, coupled with the instability of the credit market, is opening up opportunities for tech-based digital lenders and its technologies to highlight our competence compared to traditional financial institutions.”