User:Kristin at Better/Better (company)

Better Holdco, Inc. (Better or Better.com) is an American homeownership company with the stated mission of making homeownership "simpler, faster" and "more accessible." Founded in 2014 by chief executive officer Vishal Garg, the company launched its online mortgage origination business Better Mortgage in 2016  and later added subsidiaries dedicated to real estate, title and homeowners' insurance services.

The company has gained high profile coverage for its quick rise and is planning to go public via a SPAC merger. The deal would value the company at around $6.9 billion

The company is headquartered at 3 World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan.

History
In 2014 Vishal Garg incorporated Better as "Better Holdco, Inc.," after Garg and his wife had a negative experience obtaining a mortgage to buy their own first home.

In 2016 the company launched Better Mortgage and secured $30 million in Series A funding. The company was approved the same year to be a Fannie Mae seller/servicer.

Better raised Series B funding in the amount of $15 million in 2017 with Kleiner Perkins, Goldman Sachs, and Pine Brook Partners.

In 2018 the company launched two additional subsidiaries, Better Real Estate and Better Settlement Services.

In 2019 the company launched a fourth subsidiary, Better Cover, and raised $160 million in Series C funding led by Activant Capital.

The company raised Series D funding of $200 million, led by L Catterton, in 2020.

In April 2021, the company raised an additional $500 million from Japanese investment conglomerate SoftBank, resulting in a $6 billion valuation.

In May 2021, Better announced that it planned to go public via a SPAC merger with Aurora Acquisition Corp.

In July 2021, Better acquired Trussle, a UK digital mortgage broker, and in September 2021 it acquired Property Partner, a London-based crowdfunding platform.

On December 6, 2021, a video of Garg laying off 900 employees by videoconference and locking out their devices became widely disseminated. After much criticism, Garg decided to take time off from the company, but returned in January 2022.

Subsidiaries
Better is made up of four main companies offering mortgage, real estate, title and homeowners' insurance services.


 * Better Mortgage, launched in 2016, is the company's mortgage lending business.
 * Better Real Estate, launched in 2018, is the company's brokerage services business.
 * Better Settlement Services, launched in 2018, is the company's title and settlement services business.
 * Better Cover, launched in 2019, is the company's homeowners' insurance business.