Esusu, a fintech platform that helps renters build credit scores, has raised $50 million in a Series C funding round at a $1.2 billion valuation.
Renters have remained largely excluded from the traditional credit system, with an estimated $1.4 trillion paid to landlords every year in the U.S., but only 20% of those landlords choosing to report the rent paid. As a result, millions of reliable renters remain in a category referred to as the "credit invisible."
"110 million people in America rent ... and less than 10% of that data shows up on their credit score," said Esusu co-founder and CEO Wemimo Abbey in an interview on CNBC's "Worldwide Exchange" on Thursday. "When people pay rent, we make sure it shows up in their credit score," he said.
While on-time mortgage payments are known to increase one's credit score, many renters don't have any history of credit. Esusu reports on time rent payments to credit bureaus so renters can build their scores. Over 50 million Americans lack a credit history with the three major credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.
The company says $30 billion in mortgages has already been accessed by renters who use its system.
"Esusu is fundamentally reshaping how the financial system can work for everyone," Sean Mendy, partner at Westbound Equity Partners and a lead investor in the deal, said in a statement. "When people are given the tools to rise, they do."
Esusu was ranked No. 49 on CNBC's 2025 Disruptor 50 list.
Esusu partners with 65% of the largest commercial real estate owners and property managers in the U.S., as well as with banks. Since its launch in 2016, its platform has grown to support more than five million rental units nationwide, reaching about 12 million renters and processing nearly $100 billion in annual lease volume. Landlords that use its technology include Bell Partners, BH Management, Blackstone, Cortland, Invitation Homes, Jonathan Rose Companies, Kayne Anderson, Morgan Properties, Nuveen Real Estate, Pretium, Related Companies, TruAmerica, and WinnCompanies.
The fintech company plans to use the new funding to expand three initiatives. It will broaden distribution of its rent reporting API through what it calls "rent reporting as a service." Among recent partners for this initiative, Esusu technology now reaches 228 million monthly active users through real estate platform Zillow. The company also plans to launch Esusu Pay in 2026, which will allow renters to split monthly rent into installments.
Esusu will also focus on the opportunity to make rental data a more prominent feature in mortgage underwriting. The Federal Housing Finance Agency has formalized the inclusion of rental data in mortgage underwriting, which will required verified rental and identity data. Esusu acquired identity verification firm Celeri early this year. Esusu already has partnerships with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to increase the number of units nationally that report rent as part of credit.
Esusu founders Abbey and Samir Goel grew up watching their families struggle financially as immigrants from Lagos, Nigeria, and New Delhi, India, respectively, which was a founding motivation for Esusu. "When we came here, we didn't have a credit score. We went to one of the biggest financial institutions to borrow money; we were turned away and had to go borrow from a predatory lender who wanted to lend at over 400% interest rate," Abbey told CNBC in a June 2025 interview. "My mother sold my dad's wedding ring. We borrowed money from church members and that's how we got started."