← Embedded Finance Index 2026

Better

“Can a technology-first, commission-free mortgage platform systematically reduce the cost and time of home lending to capture durable share of the US residential mortgage market?”

Founded2016
HQNew York, NY, USA
FoundersVishal Garg
Total raised$900M+
Latest roundSoftBank investment, April 2021
Valuation$6B post-money (2021)
IndustryFintech / Lending
The story

Founded in 2016 by Vishal Garg after a personal experience with the slow traditional mortgage process, Better.com set out to fully digitize and de-commission the home-lending workflow. The company rode the COVID-19 refinance boom to rapid scale, reaching a $6B valuation in 2021. Post-boom, the company faced significant headwinds including publicized mass layoffs and a turbulent SPAC process, forcing a refocus on cost-efficient, technology-led mortgage origination. The embedded finance story centers on deploying Stripe as a PSP layer and operating an in-house digital mortgage product rather than building a diversified financial services stack.

Last 12 months
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Product timeline
2016
Founded by Vishal Garg as a digital, commission-free mortgage lender to modernize the home loan process.· lending
2019
Closed $160M Series C at $600M+ valuation; funding $375M in mortgages per month.· lending
2020
Raised $200M Series D; funded $25B in home loans since inception.· lending
2021
SoftBank invested $500M at $6B valuation, cementing Better as a leading digital mortgage platform.· lending
The stack
2 layers disclosed in Better’s embedded-finance stack
Payments / PSP
Stripe
Lending
in the full report
Accounting gap: none
3 more providers across 1 layer, with confidence-scored evidence and source URLs, are in the Embedded Finance Index report.