When was Earnest founded?

Earnest was founded in 2013 and raised its 1st funding round 1 year after it was founded.

Where is Earnest located?

Earnest is headquartered in San Francisco, United States. It is registered at San Francisco, California.

How many employees does Earnest have?

As of Oct 31, 2026, the latest employee count at Earnest is 376.

Is Earnest a funded company?

Earnest is a funded company, having raised a total of $107M across 4 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a $***** Series A round, raised on May 20, 2014.

How much is Earnest worth?

The last known valuation of Earnest was $***** as of Oct 05, 2017.

When was the latest funding round of Earnest?

Earnest's latest funding was a $***** Series B round on Nov 17, 2015, with participation from 4 investors. Its primary sector is Digital Lending. In United States, the Digital Lending sector has seen $5.91B in funding in 2026 to date.

Where does Earnest rank among its competitors?

Earnest ranks 12th amongst 1846 active competitors, of which 128 are funded. It stands 9th in terms of total funding among its competitors. The most recent competitor to raise funding was Navi, which secured $100M in Aug, 2026.

Who are the top competitors of Earnest?

Earnest's top competitors include SoFi, Finnable and Moneylion. Among them, Navi secured the most recent funding round in August, 2026.

Earnest - 2026 Company Profile, Team, Funding & Competitors

Q: Is Earnest an acquired company?

Earnest got acquired by Navient on Nov 03, 2017.

Earnest is an acquired company based in San Francisco (United States), founded in 2013 by Louis Beryl. It operates as a Direct lender for student loan refinancing and personal loans. Earnest has raised $107M in funding from Battery Ventures, with last known valuation of $*****. The company has 1846 active competitors, including 128 funded and 78 that have exited. Its top competitors include companies like SoFi, Finnable and Moneylion.

Company Details

Earnest is a direct lender providing student loan refinancing and personal loans. Student loans ranging from $5K to $5M can be refinanced by students as well as parents with interest rates starting from 2.75% APR. Loans are offered to students graduated from Title IV accredited schools who are employed currently. Earnest offers both fixed and variable interest loans and claims to generate average savings of $21K through refinancing. Earnest looks beyond credit score and evaluates a person’s full education, employment, and financial profile. Earnest also offers personal loans up to $50K with fixed interest rates starting at 5.25% APR.

Website: www.earnest.com/
Social
Registered Address: San Francisco, California

Key Metrics

Founded Year

2013

Location

San Francisco, United States

Stage

Acquired

Total Funding

$107M in 4 rounds

Latest Funding Round

Series B, Nov 17, 2015, $*****

Last Known Valuation

$***** as on Oct 05, 2017

Investors

Battery Ventures & 25 more

Ranked

12^th among 1846 active competitors

Employee Count

376 as on Oct 31, 2026

Similar Companies

SoFi & 548 more

Exit Details

Acquired by Navient (Nov 03, 2017)

View Earnest's full profile

Earnest is associated with 1 legal entity given below:

Legal Entity Name	Date of Incorporation	Revenue	Latest Employee Count	Reports
EARNEST INC CIN: 463184587 , United States, Active	Dec 26, 999	-	237 (As on Dec 31, 2024)	-

Earnest got acquired by Navient on Nov 03, 2017 at an acquisition amount of $*****.

Click here to take a look at Earnest's acquisition in detail

Earnest has raised a total funding of $107M over 4 rounds. Its first funding round was on May 20, 2014. Its latest funding round was a Series B round on Nov 17, 2015 for $*****. 4 investors participated in its latest round. Earnest has 25 institutional investors and 1 angel investor.

Here is the list of recent funding rounds of Earnest:

Filter this list

Date of Funding	Funding Amount	Round Name	Post-Money Valuation	Revenue Multiple	Lead Investors	Other Investors
Nov 17, 2015	5916976	Series B	2685245	3866369	2039439	4135982
Nov 17, 2015	7176657	Conventional Debt	5655722	3772498	3579587	New York Life Insurance
Jan 27, 2015	2935755	Series A	8344318	6156192	2385070	Maveron & 4 more

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View details of Earnest's funding rounds and investors

The founders of Earnest is Louis Beryl.

Here are the details of Earnest's key team members:

Louis Beryl: Former Co-Founder of Earnest and founder of 1 other company. They are also an angel investor in 14 startups.

View details of Earnest's Founder profiles and Board Members

Earnest's employee count trend

Earnest has 376 employees as of Oct 26. Here is Earnest's employee count trend over the years:

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Top competitors of Earnest include SoFi, Finnable and Moneylion. Here is the list of Top 10 competitors of Earnest, ranked by Tracxn score:

Rank	Company Details	Short Description	Total Funding	Investors	Tracxn Score
1st	SoFi 2011, San Francisco (United States), Public	Online bank offering consumer loans and insurances	$3.04B	Renren, Baseline Ventures & 79 others	87/100
2nd	Finnable 2016, Bengaluru (India), Series C	Platform offering online personal loans with minimal documentation	$90.2M	Z47, India Nippon Electricals & 28 others	79/100
3rd	Moneylion 2013, Sandy (United States), Acquired	Online platform for instant consumer loans and mobile banking	$268M	Edison Partners, Greenspring Associates & 20 others	79/100
4th	Avant 2012, Chicago (United States), Series E	Online platform for consumer loans	$905M	August Capital, Tiger Global Management & 29 others	78/100
5th	MoMo 2007, Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), Series E	Provider of a platform for financial services, payments, and money transfers	$434M	Warburg Pincus, Goldman Sachs Investment Partners ... & 12 others	77/100
6th	Kissht 2015, Mumbai (India), Public	Provider of personal loans, business loans, and loans against property	$133M	Innoven Capital, Trifecta Capital & 41 others	77/100
7th	Best Egg 2000, Wilmington (United States), Acquired	Online platform for personal loans	$300M	Invus, Hoopp & 3 others	76/100
8th	Upgrade 2016, San Francisco (United States), Acquired	Provider of consumer credit and banking products	$750M	CreditEase, FirstMark & 43 others	75/100
9th	Olyv 2017, Bengaluru (India), Series C	A personal loan and financial solutions provider	$49.5M	Lightrock, Trifecta Capital & 57 others	73/100
10th	Navi 2018, Bengaluru (India), Series C	Provider of digital financial services including personal and home loans, insurance, mutual funds, and payment solutions	$150M	Gaja Capital, NDX Financial Services & 40 others	73/100
12th	Earnest 2013, San Francisco (United States), Acquired	Direct lender for student loan refinancing and personal loans	$107M	Adams Street Partners, Cross Creek & 24 others	73/100