Radar Companies Alternative Lending · San Diego
Radar · Alternative Lending in San Diego

Best Alternative Lending Companies in San Diego, United States

The 35 best Alternative Lending companies in San Diego, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: Splitero.

35companies tracked
$631.7Mdisclosed funding
0unicorns
11have raised

Ranked: Best Alternative Lending companies in San Diego

#CompanyDisclosed fundingLast roundStageFounderFoundedTech stackRecent signals
1Splitero
Developer of an online platform for home equity loans
$318M23 mo agoSeries BMichael Gifford
Co-Founder & CEO
2021StoryblokApple iCloud MailGoogle Workspace+29
2Renovate America
Provider of financing programs for water and energy-efficient home improvements
$170M108 mo agoDeadpooled1999VideoJSSalesforce Marketing Cloud Account EngagementjQuery+13
3Gain Credit
Tech-forward lender providing responsible credit solutions with innovative technology and data science
$65M158 mo agoSeries DSteve Biafore
Founder
2003WordPress Block EditorwpBakeryWordPress+24
4Figtree Financing
PACE financing provider for property owners.
$30M125 mo agoSeries A2010
5Dealstruck
Online platform for business loans
$20M137 mo agoAcquired2012
6Mulligan Funding
Provider of SME loans
$15M40 mo agoSeries A20081 partnership
7Cardiff
Online lending solution for small business loans
$6M10 mo agoFunding Raised2010
8LoanHero
A loan origination marketplace.
$5M128 mo agoAcquired2014
9Ascent
Online platform for education loans
$3M7 mo agoSeries CKen Ruggiero
Co-Founder & CEO
2003WordPressApple iCloud MailMicrosoft 365+30
10Luminia
Commercial property solar & sustainability financing solutions
$1M83 mo agoSeed2018WordPressMySQLPHP+34

Top 11 Alternative Lending companies in San Diego

#1
Series B · San Diego, California · founded 2021 · 31 employees
$317.5Mraised

Developer of an online platform for home equity loans. It enables users to obtain financing options by providing future property appreciation as collateral. It requires users to add their details to apply for the loan. Once approved, the funds are transferred to the registered bank account.

LinkedIn Pulse recent public activity · Jul 2026
Audience: 6k LinkedIn followers — 5.1% of this cohort's audience
Activity: 1 partnerships · 1 awards announced in 12 mo
Funding rounds
  • Oct 2024Series B$300M
  • Jan 2023Series A$11.7M
  • Apr 2022Seed$5.8M
Founders & team
Michael GiffordCo-Founder & CEODavid ZvaiflerCo-Founder & COO
Investors
Fiat Ventures, Gemini Ventures, PBJ Capital, Permit Ventures, Dream Ventures, Goodwater Capital
Tech stack
Amazon CloudfrontAmazon S3Amazon Web ServicesApple Icloud MailBootstrapCloudflare
#2
Series C · San Diego, California · founded 2003 · 105 employees
$3Mraised

Online platform for education loans. It offers a platform that enables students to pay for college fees and boot camps. It also provides a partner portal that enables schools and educational institutions to join and provide financing options to the students. It features customized loan options, rewards, scholarships, and more.

LinkedIn Pulse recent public activity · Jul 2026
Audience: 6k LinkedIn followers — 5.0% of this cohort's audience
Funding rounds
  • Feb 2026Series C$45.7M
  • Jun 2025Series B$10M
  • Mar 2022Series B$22.4M
Founders & team
Ken RuggieroCo-Founder & CEO
Investors
Learn Capital
Tech stack
Amazon SesAmazon Web ServicesApple Icloud MailBootstrapCloudflareCloudflare Bot Management
#3
Funding Raised · San Diego, California · founded 2010 · 19 employees
$5.7Mraised

Online lending solution for small business loans. It offers multiple business financing products including working capital loans, equipment leasing, lines of credit, invoice factoring, and SBA loans. Interest rates are determined by multiple factors such as personal credit, business history, revenues, and industry type. It also offers corporate credit cards for managing personal and business expenses. It serves industry verticals including trucking business, dental practice, and restaurants.

LinkedIn Pulse recent public activity · Jul 2026
Audience: 4k LinkedIn followers — 2.8% of this cohort's audience
Funding rounds
  • Nov 2025Conventional Debt
  • Aug 2022Conventional Debt$5.7M
#4
Deadpooled · San Diego, California · founded 1999 · 163 employees
$169.7Mraised

Provider of financing programs for water and energy-efficient home improvements. It offers homeowners low-cost, long-term financing for renewable energy systems and water-efficient products. Lending capital is provided by private sources, and payments are collected by the municipalities along with property taxes of the resident.

Funding rounds
  • Aug 2017Conventional Debt$40M
  • Feb 2017Conventional Debt$200M
  • Sep 2015Series E$90M
  • Dec 2014Series D$15.5M
Investors
Bank of America, Silver Lake, RockPort Capital, Valor Equity Partners, 400 Capital Management, Masdar
Tech stack
Adobe AnalyticsAdobe Audience ManagerAdobe DtmAdobe Experience Platform Identity ServiceAmazon CloudfrontAmazon S3
#5
Series A · San Diego, California · founded 2008 · 197 employees
$15Mraised

Provider of SME loans

LinkedIn Pulse recent public activity · Jul 2026
Audience: 8k LinkedIn followers — 6.0% of this cohort's audience · 25 engagements/post (1.8× cohort median)
Activity: 2 partnerships (incl. Micro-sized businesses) announced in 12 mo
Funding rounds
  • May 2023Series A$5M
  • Aug 2022Series A$10M
Tech stack
WordpressMysqlMariadbPhpBootstrapVarnish
#6
Series D · San Diego, California · founded 2003 · 353 employees
$65Mraised

Tech-forward lender providing responsible credit solutions with innovative technology and data science. The company empowers underserved individuals by offering accessible and affordable credit options. They focus on treating customers fairly and providing realistic repayment timelines. They offer innovative credit line products. The company fosters an inclusive and diverse work environment where employees are valued and encouraged to reach their full potential. They are committed to social responsibility, particularly in supporting education initiatives. They leverage cutting-edge technology, data analytics, and science to deliver responsible lending services. Their approach is flexible and collaborative, harnessing talent across multiple continents. They are dedicated to positively impacting customers' lives through responsible credit solutions.

LinkedIn Pulse recent public activity · Jul 2026
Audience: 31k LinkedIn followers — 24.3% of this cohort's audience
Activity: 2 awards announced in 12 mo
Funding rounds
  • Jul 2013Conventional Debt$30M
  • May 2012Series D$25M
  • Oct 2009Series B$10M
Founders & team
Steve BiaforeFounderMark FianderGroup CEO
Investors
Mohr Davidow Ventures, Crosslink Capital, Leapfrog Ventures, QED Investors, Crystal Financial, Western Technology Investment
Tech stack
WordpressMysqlPhpBootstrapAnimate.CssWpbakery
#7
Series A · San Diego, California · founded 2010 · 152 employees
$30Mraised

Figtree Financing is a full service PACE Financing provider for property owners including quoting, application processing, and funding. Figtree PACE allows up to 20% of a property’s value to be financed for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and water conservation upgrades. The financing creates an assessment lien on the property and is repaid as semi-annual installments on the property tax bill.All commercial property types are eligible including office, industrial, retail, hotel, agriculture, and multi-family residential. The minimum allowable project size is $5,000 with no maximum. Eligible improvements include solar, HVAC, boilers & chillers, lighting, building controls, windows, cool roofing, water-efficiency plumbing, and hundreds of other improvement types.

Funding rounds
  • Mar 2016Series A$30M
#8
Acquired · San Diego, California · founded 2012 · 15 employees
$19.5Mraised

Online platform for business loans. It offers multiple business loan products including inventory financing, lines of credit, custom term loans, asset-based loans, and more. Businesses must add the required details and apply for loans. Once approved, the funds are transferred to the registered bank account.

Funding rounds
  • Apr 2015Venture Debt$50M
  • Apr 2015Series A$8.3M
  • Mar 2015Series A$10M
  • Oct 2014Seed
Investors
Trinity Ventures, Peterson Partners, Brevet Capital, Community Investment Management, Greendoor Partners
Tech stack
WordpressMysqlPhpUbuntuYoast Seo PremiumApache Http Server
#9
Acquired · San Diego, California · founded 2014 · 20 employees
$5.2Mraised

LoanHero is a loan origination marketplace that brings together customers, merchants, and loan products and services providers. Using LoanHero's technological infrastructure, customers can check their credit rating and gain access to loans and services providers. Merchants can sell their products quicker if they partner with LoanHero as their consumers get the availability of financing options. The platform received debt financing commitments worth $20 million in June, 2015.

Funding rounds
  • Jan 2016Seed$2.5M
  • Sep 2015Seed$100K
  • Jun 2015Seed$550K
  • Jun 2015Seed$1.7M
Investors
Alsop Louie Partners, Mucker, ValueStream Ventures, Simplexity
Tech stack
WordpressMysqlPhpHstsCloudflare
#10
Seed · San Diego, California · founded 2018 · 23 employees
$1.2Mraised

Commercial property solar & sustainability financing solutions

LinkedIn Pulse recent public activity · Jul 2026
Audience: 1k LinkedIn followers
Funding rounds
  • Oct 2019Seed$1.2M
Tech stack
Amazon SesAmazon Web ServicesCloudflareCloudflare Bot ManagementCore-JsFlickity
#11
Seed · San Diego, California · founded 2017 · 5 employees
raised

Online rental payment platform for landlords. The platform enables property owners to collect rents and tenants to make payments. Features include onboarding assistance, automated reporting, tracking tenants, rental reminders and more.

Funding rounds
  • Jan 2022Seed
Founders & team
Ryan AbellFounder & CEO
Investors
Amplify Marketing, RevRoad
Tech stack
AdrollAdroll Cmp SystemAmazon CloudfrontAmazon S3Amazon Web ServicesAnt Design

Funding & investor landscape

$631.7Mtotal disclosed funding
10companies funded
34disclosed rounds
0rounds last 90 days
Most active investors
Dream Ventures2 rounds
RSM Social2 rounds
400 Capital Management1 rounds
Activate Capital1 rounds
Alex and Bart's Angel Fund1 rounds
Alsop Louie Partners1 rounds
Amplify Marketing1 rounds
Antarctica Capital1 rounds
Bank of America1 rounds
Brevet Capital1 rounds

Notable founders

Michael Gifford
Co-Founder & CEO · Splitero
David Zvaifler
Co-Founder & COO · Splitero
Ken Ruggiero
Co-Founder & CEO · Ascent
Steve Biafore
Founder · Gain Credit
Mark Fiander
Group CEO · Gain Credit
Ryan Abell
Founder & CEO · PayRent
Prism market signals · United States · country-scoped Prism corpus, 12,321,951 docs

Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage

Share of Alternative Lending coverage by sub-theme.

Regulatory-risk over time rising

Funding & growth over time

funding rising · growth rising

Common questions

How many Alternative Lending companies are there in San Diego, United States?
Radar tracks 35 indexable Alternative Lending companies headquartered in San Diego, United States that meet our profile-completeness bar.
What is the total funding raised by Alternative Lending companies in San Diego, United States?
The Alternative Lending companies in San Diego, United States on this list have raised a combined $631.7M in disclosed equity funding across 10 funded companies.
Which is the highest-funded Alternative Lending company in San Diego, United States?
Splitero is the highest-funded Alternative Lending company in San Diego, United States, with $317.5M in disclosed equity funding.
How many Alternative Lending companies in San Diego, United States are funded?
10 of the 35 Alternative Lending companies in San Diego, United States on this list have disclosed at least one equity funding round.
How many Alternative Lending unicorns are there in San Diego, United States?
None of the Alternative Lending companies in San Diego, United States on this list currently has a disclosed valuation of $1B or more.
Who are the top investors in San Diego, United States Alternative Lending companies?
The most active investors in San Diego, United States Alternative Lending companies on this list include Dream Ventures, RSM Social, 400 Capital Management, Activate Capital, Alex and Bart's Angel Fund.
Rohit KhannaTrends & Stories

Rohit lives in the feed. He covers what's moving right now — the funding rounds, launches and shifts breaking across the trade press — and ties them back to where the sector is heading.

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