NEW YORK, Dec. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Esusu, the nation’s leading financial technology platform advancing credit building and economic mobility, announced it has raised $50 million in its Series C financing, bringing the company’s total capital raised to over $200 million. Esusu is available in over 5 million rental units, encompassing 12 million people and $100 billion in annual gross lease volume nationwide. Esusu partners with 65% of the largest real estate owners and operators in the country, including Bell Partners, BH Management, Blackstone, Cortland, Invitation Homes, Jonathan Rose Companies, Kayne Anderson, Morgan Properties, Nuveen Real Estate, Pretium, Related Companies, TruAmerica, and WinnCompanies. With the federal government’s recent decision that rental data will now be included in mortgage underwriting, Esusu is uniquely positioned as one of the largest verified rental data aggregators in the United States.
The Series C round was led by Westbound Equity Partners, with participation from Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Blue Meridian Partners, and strategic family offices. As Esusu enters its next phase of growth, investors stressed the company’s pivotal role in shaping a fairer and more inclusive financial system.
“Esusu is fundamentally reshaping how the financial system can work for everyone,” noted Sean Mendy, Partner at Westbound Equity Partners. “Their progress reflects something we see time and again: when people are given the tools to rise, they do. We are proud to support Esusu as they scale this important work.”
“Blue Meridian invests in scalable solutions that advance economic thriving and mobility in the United States,” said Kelly Campbell, Managing Director at Blue Meridian Partners. “We are excited to support Esusu as it continues to scale its innovative tools that help renters establish and strengthen their credit scores, empowering millions of individuals and families to achieve lasting economic stability and build assets.”
“Esusu was built on a simple principle: economic mobility should be accessible to all,” said Esusu Co-Founders and Co-CEOs Wemimo Abbey and Samir Goel. “This Series C reflects the market’s conviction that rental data is core infrastructure for the financial system. With our partners behind us, we are scaling solutions that serve as the bedrock of the American Dream. Together, we are empowering renters to build credit, unlock capital, and participate fully in the economy.”
Esusu will use this new capital to scale three major growth initiatives that position the company as the foundational financial infrastructure for renters across the United States.
Rent Reporting as a Service (RaaS): Esusu will use the new capital to scale its embedded rent reporting Application Programming Interface (API). The API allows banks, fintechs, and credit unions to integrate rent reporting directly into their platforms. This product is demonstrating rapid adoption through partnerships with industry leaders such as Zillow, which reaches 228 million monthly active users.
“Zillow and Esusu share a commitment to helping renters build credit and long-term financial stability,” said Michael Sherman, senior vice president, Zillow Rentals. “Esusu’s leadership in rent reporting makes them a natural partner for Zillow, and this collaboration brings us closer to our mission to help more people get home by improving the rental experience and strengthening renters’ path to homeownership.”
Esusu Pay: Esusu is leveraging lessons from its rent relief initiative to launch a product that enables renters to split their monthly rent into two installments aligned with their income. With more than $100 billion in annual rent volume flowing through Esusu’s landlords, the company is well-positioned to solve a major pain point for landlords and renters.
“Esusu has been a tremendous partner for Kayne Anderson over the years, empowering tens of thousands of our renters to pursue their financial aspirations,” shares Amanda Nunnink, Senior Managing Director at Kayne Anderson. “We are thrilled that Esusu continues to innovate with groundbreaking solutions like Pay Over Time, which offers residents flexible and transparent solutions for their biggest monthly expense.”
“Esusu Pay gives our residents meaningful flexibility by allowing them to split rent into manageable installments. It reduces financial strain and supports real stability. Esusu continues to deliver innovations that genuinely improve residents’ lives, and we’re proud to partner with them,” states Karen Esparza, Senior Vice President, Asset Management, BLDG Partners.
Rental Data for Underwriting: The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently formalized the inclusion of rental data in mortgage underwriting, a shift Esusu advocated for more than a decade. As the leading provider of verified rental data in the United States, Esusu has signed commercial agreements with major score providers, positioning the company as the foundational data infrastructure supporting this national change. Renters on the Esusu platform who otherwise would be excluded due to poor credit scores have unlocked over $30 billion in mortgages after participating in rent reporting. By combining Esusu’s unique data with its recent acquisition of Celeri Labs, the company is laying the groundwork for Esusu Identity Services, a suite of AI-powered products designed to become the financial identity of the future for housing and beyond.
“We have been working with Esusu since 2020 and have seen what their rent reporting platform can do for Related Affordable residents,” said Jeff Brodsky, Vice Chairman of Related Companies. “Esusu has proven that this program can help residents with their financial health by offering the capacity to have on-time rent payments reported at no cost to them.”
The Series C reinforces Esusu’s position as the category-defining platform for financial access and wealth building. As rental data becomes an industry standard for credit scoring and underwriting, Esusu Pay creates more flexibility for renters, and embedded rent reporting expands access across banks, credit unions, and fintechs. Esusu is building the infrastructure that ensures every renter in America can progress with confidence.
About Esusu
Esusu is the leading financial technology platform that uses rental data to build credit, enhance financial stability, and expand access to opportunity. Trusted by the nation’s largest property owners, operators, and financial institutions, Esusu covers 5 million units, reaches 12 million people, and processes $100 billion in annual gross lease volume. Learn more at esusurent.com.
About Westbound Equity Partners
Westbound Equity Partners backs visionary founders building transformative category-defining companies. Focused on technology, economic mobility, and inclusive growth, Westbound partners with entrepreneurs scaling solutions that strengthen communities and expand access to opportunity.
About Blue Meridian Partners
Blue Meridian Partners invests in scalable solutions that advance economic mobility for youth and families living in poverty. Through flexible and long-term capital, Blue Meridian supports organizations delivering measurable impact nationwide.
Press Contact: press@esusu.org
A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/35df2d78-93f6-404a-bdd9-4404facf0dc4
